The other day a day laborer was critically injured in a hit-and-run accident outside of the Home Depot in the community you manage. The media is still buzzing over the fact that the worker who was hit was standing on a public sidewalk (liability issues) and has no immigration documents (“illegal”). The accident has reignited the debate over the appropriateness of day laborer centers in your community. Affluent anti-immigrant activists are up in arms over the often illegal status of these day laborers and are using this recent tragedy to highlight the fact that your city has a Sanctuary City Policy with which they disagree. Working class and immigrant families are crying out for additional support, saying that the City isn’t doing enough for all of its residents. Amenities that serve basic human needs such as restrooms, drinking water, shade, and a place to rest are not available to these laborers who often stand on public sidewalks outside of large home improvement/hardware stores for hours on end. The retailer has approached the City Council at a public meeting during oral communications and pushed for a private-public partnership to establish a day laborer center on their site. Cost details are unknown but the initial establishment as well as operating costs would likely be shared by your agency, a local non profit human rights agency as well as the private party. The Council asks you to come back to them with a recommendation.
What are the management issues?
What are your options?
What would you do?
Why?