HERNDON, Va. — The results of Tuesday's Town Council elections in this small suburban community could serve as a powerful admonition to politicians across the country who favor greater rights for illegal immigrants, according to some residents and local officials.
Herndon has been in the national spotlight over a dispute about the town's use of public funds for a facility that helps day laborers, many of whom are in the United States illegally, find employment.
Opponents of the center captured the mayor's office and four council seats Tuesday, giving them a solid majority on the town's governing body.
Built with county funding and operated by a charity called Project Hope and Harmony, the center consists of a corrugated beige prefab building with a scattering of picnic tables, where workers wait at dawn to be hired.
Organizations that had fought the center were celebrating the election results Wednesday.
Residents and businesspeople who favor expanding rights for illegal immigrants said they thought recent local and national demonstrations had irreparably harmed their candidates and the wider debate.
The center has been a prime target of the Minuteman Project, the controversial citizens' group that came to prominence by setting up its own patrols along the U.S.-Mexico border. The organization established a branch in Herndon, and its national president, Chris Simcox, issued a warning Wednesday.
"Politicians across the country should take note of the results of this election," he said in a written statement. "The central issue of this referendum vote was illegal immigration and elitist politicians ignoring the will of the American people for their own special interests. The voters of Herndon, Va., sent a clear message to their city officials: 'You're fired.' "
Reelected Councilman Dennis D. Husch, who campaigned against the center, was optimistic that similar grass-roots movements against illegal immigration would prevail.
"I would like to think we've given hope to all those who are not satisfied with the situation. The federal government has let us down," he said, warning of a backlash in November's congressional elections for those favoring greater rights for illegal immigrants. "Come November, they better be clear about their position, or they'll be sitting at home come Jan. 1."
J. Harlon Reece, the only council member who kept his seat despite his vote for the center, said he was concerned about the election's wider ramifications.
