Maryland Day Laborer Site Approved … Will Use U.S. Tax Dollars

One Maryland county opened its third taxpayer-funded day laborer center this week to help illegal immigrants find jobs, learn English and obtain legal assistance.

The center will be located in a doublewide trailer on public county land and will offer a variety of free services to illegal aliens seeking work, legal help and language classes. American taxpayers will pick up the bill.

The center was originally planned to open in the city of Gaithersburg, but officials could not find or agree on a location. They even set up an official Gaithersburg Day Laborer Task Force to study the situation and offer city leaders recommendations. The task force even published a detailed and sophisticated 137-page report offering recommendations for a publicly funded day laborer site.

When years elapsed and city officials could not agree on a location, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett gladly offered some county land for the illegal immigrant center. An immigrant advocacy group called Casa de Maryland will get thousands of county dollars to run the center and county police will help monitor it.

City and county officials say opening the center was essential because immigrants need a place to gather when they look for work. For years, they have infested city parking lots along a busy Gaithersburg street forcing the city to pass an ordinance that makes such street hires illegal.