The town of Herndon is seeking a new group to manage its controversial day laborer center, with new rules that could have severe implications for those who use it now.
“The goal is simple: to have someone who will check for a legal right to work, check for employment eligibility,” said Herndon Mayor Stephen J. DeBenedittis.
The town issued a request for bids late last week for a new manager to take over from Project Hope and Harmony, a group that now operates the site and does not run eligibility checks. The Town Council approved the change earlier that week.
The move is the latest in an ongoing campaign by the new council to crack down on the day laborer site and illegal immigrants who use it. By requiring the checks, the council could be effectively dismantling a large part of the center’s original purpose of consolidating a population of immigrant laborers to a single location each day.
“Realistically, I think it will cut the number of people [who use the site],” the mayor said. “Hopefully this will be the push they need to get eligibility, and then we can really do a lot more for them.”
Much of the old Herndon Town Council was voted out of office with the mayor last year in a vote largely seen as a response to the approval of the day laborer site, which thrust the town into the national debate on illegal immigration.
The deadline for new management proposals is Feb. 9.
