Prince George's to open center for day laborers

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Prince George's County is aiming to join other area communities in opening a day-labor center to curb illegal aliens and others from loitering in public places. Officials plan to begin work within months, despite growing opposition to such facilities.

"Go to any 7-Eleven within a two-mile radius of Langley Park, [and] the intersections will be filled with laborers," County Council member Will Campos said yesterday. "They're not going to go away -- especially if people are hiring them at that spot."

Officials said the center will not check the legal status of laborers, of which Mr. Campos estimates roughly "99.9 percent" are illegal.

Such facilities have moved to the center of the debate over whether local governments should spend taxpayer money to help illegal aliens find work.

In Herndon, town officials are facing a lawsuit for using taxpayer money this past summer to fund a center for day laborers who engaged in such behavior as loitering, urinating and catcalling at women around a 7-Eleven. The center is scheduled to open Dec. 19, despite the opposition.

In Gaithersburg, city officials canceled plans this fall to open a center amid an outcry from residents who were excluded from discussions and planning.

The center in Langley Park will be run by the immigrant advocacy group CASA of Maryland and would be the first in the county and join two others in the state -- in Silver Spring and Wheaton.

Mr. Campos, a Democrat, said CASA officials are negotiating with the owner of the building at Riggs Road and University Boulevard and that the center likely will open within the next three to six months.

"They're in the final, final steps," he said.

CASA and the county would not confirm the location.