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BY CHRISTINE KUMAR
UMCONNECTION STAFF

Plans to open a much anticipated center for day laborers near Grace UMC in Gaithersburg came to a screeching halt when area residents strongly opposed the idea at a community meeting Oct. 11 at the church.

More than 120 residents attended the meeting, many stating that they were not involved in the decision-making process of opening the center, and that the proposed center was too close to the residential area.

There was also opposition voiced against illegal immigration since many of the day laborers do not have proper documentation to work in the United States.

The Rev. Lou Piel, pastor of Grace UMC for the past 16 years and chairman of the Day Laborer Task Force, said that good can come out of the meeting.

'It was a passionate and honest meeting,' Piel said. 'The mayor, Sidney Katz, apologized for not informing the residents.'

The city council will start over by forming a new committee to discuss finding another location for a center where people can seek work, avoid dishonest contractors who take advantage of their illegal status and receive educational services.

There are two current day labor centers in Montgomery County: in Wheaton and Silver Spring. The Silver Spring location has been in operation for more than a decade. These centers are operated by CASA de Maryland, a nonprofit Latino organization which was founded by Central American refugees and North Americans.

For the past two years, after the Hispanic Catholic Center in Gaithersburg moved, 30 to 40 Latino men, mostly from countries closest to the U.S. border, including Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico, have gathered outside the parking lot of Grace UMC in hopes of finding work to support themselves and their families.

The center, which was located in a strip mall next to the parking lot of Grace UMC, had provided immigration, welfare and healthcare services to many in the Hispanic community.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Hispanic population is projected to grow by 87,000 in Maryland by the year 2015. These numbers do not include immigrants who are undocumented.

Piel and David Rocha, pastor of neighboring Camina Da Vida, have been providing hot coffee, cocoa and sandwiches for the men searching of work. The men also have access to the bathroom at the church.

Rocha, a native of Columbia and coordinator of the Baltimore-Washington Conference Hispanic ministries, speaks to the men in their native Spanish language. He said that there were complaints that the men were littering in the parking lot. When he asked them to pick up the trash, they complied.

Every day, as contractors drive into the parking lot, men of all ages flock to the cars looking for work. Only a few are chosen. Others must wait until another contractor comes to offer them work for a day?s pay.

The men wait in the parking lot from 7 to 10 a.m., seven days a week. After 10 a.m., those who have not found work go back home until the next morning. Most walk two miles a day or more to and from their homes since they have no transportation.

Last winter Grace UMC opened its fellowship hall to the men so that they could stay warm. 'If the men are inside, they feel that they are losing opportunities for work. Whoever stays outside gets to get work for the day, so that?s a problem,' said Piel.

Piel, who has been instrumental in forming and chairing the county?s Day Laborer Task Force, encountered opposition from some of the church members about providing the church facilities for the men. There was concern about safety.

'We want to be an open-door church but keep (ourselves) safe,' said associate pastor, the Rev. Wendy Cordova. 'We have a responsibility to be in ministry.'

Piel, Rocha, and members of Grace will continue to provide hot beverages, sandwiches and a bathroom facility to the men as city and county officials work on a plan to open a new day labor center at another location.

'I feel the city is willing to move ahead in finding a location, but when will it be?' said Piel. 'I don?t know.'

Dialogue opens up possibilities

In early September, workers, community activists, church members and residents of the Dupont and Logan Circle neighborhoods met at Foundry UMC, addressing issues and concerns of day laborers in that comm-unity. The outcome of the dialogue produced a need for a day labor center in Washington, D.C. Immigrant advocates offered to assist the workers to get started and raise funds.