http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/02 ... _18_06.txt

Day laborers cause face-off in Vista

By: CRAIG TENBROECK - Staff Writer

VISTA ---- Hundreds of demonstrators on both sides of the illegal immigration debate faced off at a popular gathering spot for day laborers two weeks ago in central Vista, exposing a deep political rift in this diverse North County community.

Throngs of job-seekers ---- predominantly Latino men who congregate most mornings in search of under-the-table work ---- are not a new sight along busy Escondido Avenue. But recently, they have become the focal point of this sticky local conflict.

Advocates say the laborers are simply trying to work, often to support families. But opponents contend the majority are in the U.S. illegally, pose a safety hazard, and taint the city's image by congregating at one of Vista's busiest thoroughfares.

At Tuesday's City Council meeting ---- the first since the dueling protests ---- several men stepped to the podium and urged the city's leaders to crack down on the day labor market.

Afterward, Mayor Morris Vance said he had asked city staff to look at the city's options under the law.

"We would all like to see a solution to this because it does cause consternation within the community," Vance said.

Councilman Bob Campbell could not be reached for comment this week, but reactions from other council members have been mixed.

Council members Frank Lopez and Judy Ritter said they welcome a council discussion of a phenomenon they both view as problematic, but they have no ready solutions. Because activists on both sides of the debate often cite conflicting information about the scope and source of the problem, "someone needs to tell me ---- what is the truth?" Ritter said.

Councilman Steve Gronke said he is reluctant to have a local council tackle immigration matters, which he feels should be the federal government's responsibility.

"I don't think the cities have the jurisdiction or the wherewithal to take this issue on themselves," Gronke said.

"It's not a win-win situation, that's for sure."

The hot spot


Early each morning, a familiar scene takes shape north of Escondido and South Santa Fe avenues.

Day laborers, most wearing baseball caps, jeans and weathered work boots, gather in front of the Von's shopping center to wait for a job offer that may or may not come. The size of the daily cluster ranges from fewer than 10 to more than 50, and thins out as the afternoon nears, according to employees and business owners in the complex.

The shopping center's lone security guard meanders from one small pocket of men to another, asking those who have strayed too far into the parking lot to move back to the sidewalk or onto the grass strip near the curb. The men usually oblige without complaint, but by the time the guard reaches the end of the line, some have already strayed back, and the cycle repeats.

The action picks up when cars or pickup trucks pull into the lot and drivers roll down their windows. The laborers surge toward them, hands in the air. After a brief discussion, a few men climb inside and the vehicles pull away. Those left behind drift back toward the sidewalk and continue to wait.

Who are they?


Migrant day laborers are primarily employed by homeowners and construction contractors for painting, landscaping, gardening and other forms of manual labor, according to a nationwide study of day laborers, released last month.

The study's authors, social scientists from UCLA, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and New York's New School University, surveyed 2,660 day laborers at 264 sites in 20 states and the District of Columbia during July and August 2004.

Based on the interviews, the report estimates three-quarters of day laborers are undocumented migrants, though 11 percent of those workers have pending applications to adjust their immigration status. Most are full-time day laborers, unlikely to bring in more that $15,000 a year.

Many respondents appeared to be active members of the community, with more than half saying they regularly attend church and 22 percent playing club sports. The study's authors estimated the size of the day labor work force in the U.S. at 117,600, but they cautioned that this figure is probably low.

In central Vista, laborers have congregated for years, though the exact location has occasionally shifted from curb to curb, city officials said.

Lt. Hernando Torres of the Vista sheriff's station, said he's had numerous conversations with the laborers and believes many of them are here legally, an opinion that has been echoed by several city officials.

"They're here every single day because they're not afraid of law enforcement or getting in trouble with immigration," Torres said.

But it's difficult to ascertain the laborers' immigration status with any certainty.

The Sheriff's Department can ask about immigration status after an arrest has been made or if someone has been contacted for a criminal violation, but it does not allow deputies to approach workers on the street and ask whether they're documented, as that could raise questions of profiling and discrimination, Torres said.

"I would hate for someone to come up to me when I'm on my day off and start asking me those questions," said Torres, who immigrated from Mexico as a child.

The problem


City Manager Rita Geldert said the city gets two to three complaints a week about the daily gatherings on Escondido Avenue. Some people view the day laborers as an eyesore. Others say they are frightened to walk down the sidewalk.

Pat Origlieri, owner of a copy store in the shopping center for the past 12 years, said the men are never disrespectful and don't leave too much trash, but their simple presence isn't conducive to a business environment.

"I'm sure they're good people and they need the work, but the sheer numbers can be intimidating to people," Origlieri said, adding that her numerous complaints to the city seem to have been ignored.

Geldert said there are about 30 parcels in the shopping center, and "it's difficult to assemble everyone together for a united effort in dealing with the center's issues."

Interviewed before the protest, a Spanish-speaking day laborer said: "We're not causing any problems for anybody."

But on Wednesday, Laura Carroll, a fitness coach at Curves gym for women in the back corner of the complex, said the laborers can inadvertently frighten customers in pickups or SUVs, because they mistake them for prospective employers and crowd around.

"I'm sorry, but it scares me," Carroll said. "And I know some of the other girls feel the same way."

The Sheriff's Department always responds to complaints, Torres said, but there aren't too many problems. When laborers are clogging the sidewalk or driveways, deputies typically tell them to move along.

"Once a deputy tells them to disperse, they will disperse," Torres said.

The day laborers have problems of their own. Many have complained to him after being cheated of pay, Torres said.

The authors of the national survey said 20 percent of day laborers interviewed reported being injured on the job and 44 percent said they had been denied food and water breaks.

Lopez said the parking lot is a dangerous place for the workers to congregate, and he's afraid one may trip and fall in front of a moving car. "Somebody is going to get hurt one of these days," he said.

City solutions


At the mayor's request, City Attorney Darold Pieper has started researching Vista's options to alleviate some of the neighborhood's concerns.

"We'll be looking into any type of statutory basis there might be for dealing with the situation," Pieper said, as well as case studies where other cities have attempted to crack down. "We want to see what their creative minds have come up with and how those cases have fared in the courts."

Some cities, like Escondido and Carlsbad, have used hiring halls to provide both workers and employers with some level of security.

Deborah Andreasen, public relations coordinator for Interfaith Community Services, which operates the Escondido hall, said Friday the program oversaw more than 7,500 day labor placements in fiscal year 2004-05. While Andreasen considers the program a success, she acknowledged it has not eliminated the city's traditional day laborer gathering spots.

Vance said he didn't think a hiring hall was a viable solution for Vista ---- "I don't think I've ever found or heard of one that has been successful."

But Torres said it would provide deputies and social services groups a place to send day laborers who would rather not participate in a street corner economy.

Lopez and Ritter predicted the illegal immigration, and day labor in particular, will become a central issue in the November City Council election. In this heavily Latino city, emotions on both sides of the debate run high, and Ritter, who is up for re-election, admitted: "It's a little scary for me."

Staff writer Stacy Brandt contributed to this story. Contact staff writer Craig TenBroeck at (760) 631-6621 or ctenbroeck@nctimes.com.