COSTA MESA – Barred from soliciting work by distracting drivers, day laborers are holding "Hire Here" signs and standing still on sidewalks throughout the city, according to the Daily Pilot.

A city ordinance adopted in 2005 prohibits "active solicitation" by, of or from people in moving cars. It also bans solicitation in commercial parking areas that have signs prohibiting such actions.
Article Tab : Day laborers walked with their signs up Newport Boulevard on Feb. 2 as they marched to Costa Mesa City Hall in support of a lawsuit against the city s anti-solicitation ordinance.
Day laborers walked with their signs up Newport Boulevard on Feb. 2 as they marched to Costa Mesa City Hall in support of a lawsuit against the city s anti-solicitation ordinance.


However, the ordinance allows people to stand on sidewalks with signs, distribute literature to pedestrians and talk to others in lawfully parked vehicles.

Earlier this month, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, along with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, filed a lawsuit against the city challenging its ordinance targeting day laborers.

Police officials have said the department constantly enforces the city's anti-solicitation ordinance. In September, police arrested a total of 12 day laborers for illegally soliciting work at three hot spots in the city, including the 7-Eleven at 2150 Placentia Avenue. The day laborers were ultimately deported.

The city has for years tried to tackle issues related to day laborers. In 2005, the city shuttered a job center, which citizens argued attracted illegal immigrants and wasted taxpayers' money. The center – formerly on Placentia Avenue – opened in 1988 in response to complaints about loitering, traffic problems and unsafe conditions when laborers searched for work on streets and at parks.

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