PHOENIX DAY LABOR CENTER UNPOPULAR AND A FAILURE
The city of Phoenix is contemplating whether to continue or scrap its city-funded day laborer hiring site. The center, which opened a year ago, has failed to attract as many as half of Phoenix’s day laborers, who still prefer to solicit work on street corners. It has also been wildly unpopular among most residents who view it as an encouragement to illegal immigrants, that taxpayers are forced to subsidize to the tune of $120,000 a year. The Phoenix city councilwoman who sponsored the hiring hall is facing a recall, and the anger generated by it has helped fuel a statewide voter initiative, known as Protect Arizona Now, that would limit state-funded services to illegal aliens.