(Washington, DC) -- Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, sent a letter warning the City of Thousand Oaks, California, about the legality of its taxpayer-funded day labor site for illegal aliens.  Documents obtained by Judicial Watch through the California Public Records Act indicate that the City of Thousand Oaks has expended in excess of $133,000 in taxpayer funds between 2001 and 2007 to subsidize the day labor site that serves illegal aliens. 

“For the City to use taxpayer resources in this manner is akin to a city operating its own ‘red light’ district or illegal drug market to enable persons who participate in such activities to have a safe, orderly, well-regulated environment in which to engage in their illicit transactions,” Judicial Watch President noted in his July 31, 2007 letter to Thousand Oaks Mayor Andrew P. Fox.  “We trust that taxpayer resources will not continue to be misused for the operation of a day laborer site.  Kindly confirm that you will cease immediately expending citizen taxpayer dollars and resources for the day laborer site.”

As Judicial Watch noted in its letter, federal law prohibits the hiring of an illegal alien if it is known the alien is not authorized to work in the United States.  Studies conducted around the country confirm that the vast majority of day laborers lack the proper documentation to work in the United States.  Given that the City of Thousand Oaks day labor site does not screen for employment eligibility, as required by law, it is certain that users of the site are undocumented and, therefore, that the day labor site is facilitating illegal activity.

“Local officials must stop violating federal immigration law,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.  “Thousand Oaks and other cities that subsidize illegal day labor not only violate the law but worsen the illegal immigration crisis.”

Judicial Watch has launched a number of lawsuits and investigations across the country challenging the improper use of taxpayer funds to operate day labor sites, including Herndon, Virginia, and Laguna Beach, California. 

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Click here to read Judicial Watch’s July 31 letter to the Mayor of Thousand Oaks

Click here to find out more information about Judicial Watch’s illegal immigration programs