CA: Hearing in Laguna Beach day labor site

[Jean]

Thursday, November 15, 2007
Hearing in Laguna Beach day labor site
The suit argues that the city cannot legally fund the site that helps workers, including the undocumented, find work.
By AMY TAXIN
The Orange County Register

A lawsuit accusing the city of Laguna Beach of illegally funding a day labor site where undocumented immigrants can find work will head to court for a hearing on Thursday.

Attorneys for the city and for Laguna Beach resident Eileen Garcia, an anti-illegal immigration activist who filed the lawsuit last year, will appear in court for a key hearing in the case.

Garcia and the city agree on a series of facts: Laguna Beach has a day labor site where people can seek work and where immigration status is not checked. The city doesn't run the site but provides community assistance grants to a non-profit that manages it.

Attorneys for Garcia say the city can't legally use public funds to run a site that helps people find work who are not authorized to work in the United States – namely illegal immigrants.

The city says it is allowed to support the non-profit that runs the site and that non-profits are not required to screen recipients of services for their immigration status – otherwise programs including schools, hospitals and public buses would face this same challenge.

Laguna Beach initially opened its day labor hiring center in 1993 in response to complaints that day laborers were congregating in local neighborhoods.

http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-sit ... day-beach#

[StokeyBob]

Here is an update to the previous article.

The guy that filed this lawsuit with Judicial Watch is posting on the Save Our State forums.

http://www.saveourstate.org/vforums/...ad.php?t=34401

Comment section and a Recommend this article alert!



Laguna Beach day labor site ruling postponed

Lawsuit argues city cannot legally fund center that helps workers, including the undocumented get work.

By AMY TAXIN

The Orange County Register
Comments 9 | Recommended6

SANTA ANA – A court ruling is expected within a week on a lawsuit accusing the city of Laguna Beach of illegally funding a day labor site where undocumented immigrants can find work.

Judge Gregory Munoz heard arguments from attorneys on Friday and said he expects to rule within a week on the suit, which was filed last year by Laguna Beach resident and anti-illegal immigration activist Eileen Garcia.

Garcia, who is represented by Judicial Watch, and the city agree on a series of facts: Laguna Beach has a site where people can seek work and where immigration status is not checked. The city doesn't run the site but provides community assistance grants to a non-profit that manages it.

On Friday, Judicial Watch attorney Candice Jackson argued that the city can't legally fund the center since it helps people who are not authorized to work -- illegal immigrants -- find work here.

"This case amounts to an opportunity for the taxpayers of Laguna Beach to achieve some accountability from their city government in not fostering or promoting an activity that has been deemed illegal by the federal government," she said.

But Laguna Beach says local government can't be banned from providing general services that may be used by illegal immigrants – and non-profits aren't required to check the immigration status of people they serve. Otherwise, the city couldn't subsidize services like recreation, day care or soup kitchens or any other service that might be used by illegal immigrants, said Bob Owen, an attorney for the city.

"Plaintiffs might have a political argument with the center -- obviously they do," he said. "But that does not justify this lawsuit. The remedy is with Congress, not with Orange County Superior Court."

Laguna Beach opened its day labor hiring center in 1993 in response to complaints that day laborers were congregating in local neighborhoods and creating a public nuisance.

Garcia, who has long fought against the site, said she was pleased by the judge's questions, which focused mostly on legal definitions. "The right way to do things is to come and do things in a court of law and have a neutral party make a decision," she said.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7999 or ataxin@ocregister.com



http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-...77-illegal-day