Herndon VA Closes Day Labor Centers

The city of Herndon, VA has been a flashpoint in the issue of illegal immigration for some time (previous post here). After being ordered by the courts to allow illegal aliens to use its day labor center over the wishes of the city leaders, the council voted to close the centers altogether.

The Town of Herndon announced yesterday that it would close its 21-month-old day-laborer center next week instead of complying with a judge's ruling that the site must be open to all residents, including those who might be illegal immigrants.

The decision to close the site, which became a flash point in the national debate over immigration, was reached late Tuesday by Mayor Stephen J. DeBenedittis and the six-member Town Council after a 2 1/2 -hour closed-door session. It brings the western Fairfax community virtually full circle in its attempts to regulate -- critics say drive out -- its large population of Latino day laborers. The center was established in late 2005 as an alternative to the streets for laborers and prospective employers to come to terms.

Herndon's experience with the day-laborer center was a bellwether for towns across the country wrestling with national immigration issues. As other jurisdictions try to pass measures targeting illegal immigrants, yesterday's actions in Herndon indicate that courts, and not legislators, might have the ultimate say.

It looks to me that the city council had the ultimate say since they basically told the courts to go pound sand. Although they didn't get their way in terms of keeping the illegals out of the day labor center, they did the next best thing.