Thread: Riverside threatened with suit

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Campaign Focus page to support ordinance.
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Riverside threatened with suit

By RICHARD PEARSALL
Courier-Post Staff


RIVERSIDE
Drop the ordinance or face a lawsuit.

That is the message a coalition of Latino and civil rights groups delivered to the township committee here Wednesday in the latest exchange of views on the township's illegal immigration ordinance.

Asked if the committee would comply with the coalition's request and revoke the ordinance at its next meeting, scheduled for Sept. 27, Mayor Charles Hilton replied, "It's not likely."

The ordinance, enacted in July, prescribes fines of up to $2,000 for landlords who rent to or employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.

Hilton estimated the number of illegal immigrants in his township then at somewhere between 1,500 and 3,500. He said Wednesday he believes there has been some decrease since then.

Led by the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, the coalition contemplating legal action contends the Riverside ordinance is unconstitutional and has already filed suit against the Hazleton, Pa., ordinance after which it is modeled.

In a letter to Hilton, the coalition threatened to sue Riverside, too, warning if it doesn't take action to rescind the ordinance, "the township will be subject to injunctive relief, possible monetary damages and the payment of attorney fees and costs which will likely be quite substantial."

Meanwhile, the owner of an Edgewater Park bed and breakfast has scheduled a yard sale Saturday to support Riverside's efforts to combat illegal immigration.

Proceeds from the yard sale will be sent to the Riverside Legal Defense Fund, said Carol Moore, owner of the White Briar Bed and Breakfast at 1028 Cooper St.

Moore said she is acting on behalf of a group called the Daughters of America, whose "prime objective," she said, "is to protect Americans and American interest from the devastating effects of immigration, and, in this case, illegal immigration."

In addition to the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, the coalition contemplating legal action includes the American Civil Liberties Union and People for the American Way as well as a local group formed in response to the ordinance, the Coalition of Business Owners and Landlords.

In its letter to Hilton, the coalition outlined what it sees as four problems with the ordinance that render it "in violation of the United States and New Jersey constitutions and various civil rights laws." The coalition cited a report from the Congressional Research Service that concludes that the Hazleton ordinance is likely to be found unlawful.

Reach Richard Pearsall at (856) 486-2465 or rpearsall@courierpostonline.com
Published: September 21. 2006 3:10AM

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Posted on Thu, Sep. 21, 2006

Riverside warned of second lawsuit
Groups want the township to repeal its illegal-immigrant ban next week.
By Gaiutra Bahadur
Inquirer Staff Writer

The American Civil Liberties Union and other civil-rights, Latino, and local business advocates yesterday announced plans to sue Riverside if its controversial new ordinance targeting illegal immigrants is not revoked next week.

In a letter delivered to Mayor Charles Hilton, attorneys for the groups warned that they would sue unless the Illegal Immigration Relief Act is repealed at the Township Council meeting Wednesday. It would be the second challenge to the law.

The legislation, enacted in July, calls for fines of up to $2,000 for anyone who knowingly rents to illegal immigrants. Employers of unauthorized immigrants would lose their business permits for five years. Plaintiffs in the suit are likely to be business owners and landlords.

The National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders, based in Washington, sued the Burlington County township last month. Hazleton, Pa., the former coal town whose legislative crackdown on illegal immigrants motivated Riverside and dozens more communities to take similar measures, is in federal court over its ordinance.

The ACLU and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, which also signed the letter to Hilton, are among those suing Hazleton.

"We think [the letter] shows a good-faith effort on our part," said Andrew Viola, an attorney for the Riverside Coalition of Business Owners and Landlords. "We're not trying to do shock-and-awe here. We're trying to get a good result."

Viola and an attorney for People for the American Way, a liberal-leaning civil-rights group in Washington, also signed the letter, which repeated legal arguments that towns are trespassing on federal turf by trying to regulate immigration.

"Though the township may disagree with federal policies or the manner in which the federal government is performing its job with respect to immigration," the letter read, "neither Riverside nor the thousands of other cities and municipalities across this country can take on that task."

The letter also suggested new grounds for challenging the ordinance, based on state tenant and construction codes and civil-rights protections under the New Jersey Constitution. The attorneys would not elaborate on their strategy.

Hilton and the township solicitor, Doug Heinold, did not return calls seeking their reaction. Despite the earlier suit, both have said they are committed to the ordinance they resorted to after an influx of more than 1,500 illegal immigrants from Brazil and Central America strained township resources.

The township filed a motion to dismiss the first suit, saying the Latino clergy group's attorney was not licensed to practice in New Jersey.

William Sanchez, who practices out of Miami, said Martin Rivera, a lawyer in New Brunswick, N.J., was added to the suit Monday.

"It was basically a procedural issue," said the Rev. Miguel Rivera, who leads the coalition. Rivera is not related to Martin Rivera.

A federal judge in New Jersey will decide whether that suit stands.

Riverside businessman Franco Ordonez said he had not known he was named as a plaintiff in the original court challenge until it was filed. He said he supported the suit, however.

"I spoke to him before the lawsuit was filed," Sanchez said. "He hasn't expressed any type of that concern with me."

The clergy group's challenge seeks $10 million in damages for Latino and undocumented residents of Riverside.

Attorneys involved say the two lawsuits do not overlap because they represent different clients.

"We could not agree on some matters," Miguel Rivera said. "Even though there are two separate lawsuits, it's moral support."


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Contact staff writer Gaiutra Bahadur at 215-854-2601 or bahadug@phillynews.com.