Build it and They Will Keep Coming

Build it and They Will Keep Coming

Commentary by Sanford D. Horn

August 19, 2005

The oft-used phrase “build it and they will come,” co-opted from the Kevin Costner film Field of Dreams, could not ring truer regarding the approved day labor site to be erected on the Town of Herndon-Loudoun County border. This “field of dreams” will soon turn portions of Northern Virginia into a field of nightmares as property values, due to fears both realized and imagined, will begin to plummet.

The five to two decision by the Herndon Town Council on Wednesday evening creates a bad precedent that could spread to Annandale, Woodbridge and countless other locales where residents legal and illegal will flock in even greater numbers.

Such a site only validates the presence of workers who may not have a legal leg on which to stand in the US. The concept of providing a site – at taxpayer expense – for workers who may be in this country illegally simply enables more undocumented workers to rush to the site. The government – at any level – from town to county, state and/or federal – supporting this site is criminal in aiding and abetting lawbreaking.

A site where documentation is verified would be a good first step in an honest attempt to begin solving the pandemic of illegal immigration. Those here legally would be welcome to gather, learn English, and secure legal, gainful employment, thus joining the tax rolls and ultimately becoming less of a burden on society.

As legal residents working, they will add to the economy. Verifying immigration status at such a day labor site will help stem the rising tide of illegal behavior. That those who are here illegally have broken the law must not be overlooked.

Build it and they most assuredly will come. Just make sure those who come are entitled to the fruits of the labor creating this site.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and political consultant living in Alexandria, VA.