The Observer Newspapers | Town Needs Tougher Enforcement to Control Aliens

August 15 , 2008

Town Needs Tougher Enforcement to Control Aliens

To the editor:

Recent letters to the editor have shown a continued affection for illegal aliens with little regard on the effect they have on the quality of life for residents and businesses on Alabama Drive and Elden Street. It seems workers who are ineligible to work in the United States have the complete support of Ann Csonka and Reston Interfaith while numerous Herndon families are driven from their homes.

The negative effect loitering laborers have on property values and public safety were lost with Ms. Csonka's weak attempt to explain her far-reaching legal conclusion on the recently passed Watts law ("Solutions to Day Laborers Lies in the Past," The Observer Aug. 1).

Businesses along Elden Street have been threatened by laborers who refuse to leave their property while destroying all vegetation beneath their feet. Reston Interfaith's former head of the Herndon Official Workers Center, Bill Threlkeld, continues an active role in coaching day laborers to congregate and how to avoid identification by local authorities. Reston Interfaith's unneighborly behavior continues to be a growing problem for Herndon and many feel it is yet another attempt to open a hiring site for illegal aliens with taxpayer funds.

We need an enforcement approach that makes Herndon less attractive to illegal aliens. We also need political leaders with a keen eye to those most affected by illegal aliens in Herndon.

Half truths absent of facts will not move us closer to a solution where all Herndon residents can enjoy a quality of life not affected by those here illegally. Virginia jails will begin reporting illegal aliens to the immigration authorities under legislation passed by the Virginia General Assembly this year.

Herndon's agreement with the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the 287(g) program remains unchanged and will remove criminal illegal aliens from our community. We should not be seduced to modify this agreement only to the "worst of the worst" as Ms. Csonka suggests.

Let us not forget Joseph Passarelli, a Herndon resident who was killed in a hit-and-run accident two years ago. Herndon Police identified an illegal alien, Jose Santos Sibrian Espinoza, as the prime suspect in that case. Day laborer sites, informal and formal, allow people like Espinoza to remain free and seek work along our streets.

Phil Jones

Herndon