Thread: ESCONDIDO, CA NEW ANTI-DAY LABOR ORDINANCE

Escondido upbeat about possible day-labor restrictions

By: DAVID GARRICK - Staff Writer
February 20, 2008

But City of Orange laws might not work well locally

ESCONDIDO, CA -- City officials said Tuesday they have been impressed by the early success of new day-laborer restrictions in the city of Orange, but they also warned that those laws might not be a perfect fit in Escondido if the city decides to adopt similar legislation.

An advocate for immigrant rights reiterated his opposition Tuesday to Escondido's plans to make it illegal for day laborers to solicit motorists from public sidewalks, saying that cities should not be enacting laws to address federal problems such as illegal immigration.

"These attempts by cities underscore the need for comprehensive immigration reform legislation," said Bill Flores, a spokesman for El Grupo, an umbrella group of civil rights organizations. "Without such legislation, cities have been left to their own devices."

Flores also criticized the Escondido City Council majority for repeatedly proposing legislation that attacks illegal immigrants in a "misguided" and "divisive" way.

City Attorney Jeff Epp said that he and his staff have spent two months studying the laws passed by Orange, which is about 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles. They began that research at the request of Councilman Ed Gallo, who contends that Escondido should adopt similar laws.

Gallo said the laws would help make the city safer and more orderly, and the rest of the council has agreed that the city has a problem with day laborers.

Epp said it is a good sign that no one has legally challenged the Orange restrictions since they went into effect Jan. 11, and city officials from Orange said the new laws had dramatically reduced the number of day laborers soliciting work on public streets.

But Epp said the Orange laws would probably not work well on Quince Street, where most of Escondido's day laborers congregate, because parking is allowed on some portions of the street. Parking would have to be prohibited along the entire street, Epp said, so that drivers who pull over to pick up laborers could not say, convincingly, that they were simply trying to park.

Escondido might also be more susceptible to lawsuits than Orange, Epp said, because the records Escondido has kept of its problems with day-laborer solicitation are far less extensive and complete than those kept by Orange.

"An extensive record of the problem is helpful when the court evaluates how closely a city's legislation meets the problem they are trying to address," said Epp.

On the other hand, Escondido's day-laborer hiring hall at Quince Street and Washington Avenue would help against any court challenges, Epp said, because it shows that the city has made concerted attempts to solve the problem before passing any laws.

For cities to successfully control day-laborer activity, they must devote significant police resources to enforcing any laws they pass, said David DeBerry, city attorney for Orange.

"(Our new laws) have gone very well so far, but the question always boils down to how much effort the city is willing to make in enforcement," DeBerry said Tuesday. "We've seen a drop from about 150 to 200 laborers down to 20 or 25 at our most problematic intersection. But the problem will ebb and flow based on enforcement."

DeBerry said "a few dozen" citations have been issued during the six weeks since the new laws took effect, but he said the city's success has been based less on the citations and more on an expanded police presence at day-laborer hiring spots and an aggressive education campaign that preceded the new laws.

Day laborers in Orange face fines of $250 for a first offense, $500 for a second violation and $1,000 for a third incident. DeBerry said the actual amounts paid are a bit higher because the court charges extra fees for processing misdemeanors.

The Orange laws are carefully crafted to target aggressive solicitation, said DeBerry. Sign twirlers are not illegal because they are not soliciting someone to hire them, and Girl Scouts can wave people into car washes if they have permission from the owner of the car wash facility, he said. The laws do apply to people selling roses or fruit along the street, he said.

Cities across California have wrestled for many years with problems created by day laborers. Vista adopted an ordinance in 2006 that forces people who hire day laborers to register with the city.

Epp said the city has closely watched the legal challenges to Vista's law and also studied laws passed by Glendale and some cities in Arizona. But he said the Orange laws appear to have the most potential for Escondido.

Several groups have threatened to sue Orange over its new laws, but no one has filed any lawsuits so far, said DeBerry.

Gallo said Tuesday that the lack of legal challenges has bolstered his confidence that the Orange laws can work in Escondido.

"The crucial thing is to craft an ordinance that is lawsuit-proof," said Gallo. "And it looks like we are getting close."

Epp said it would be several months before the council is presented with any day-laborer ordinances because his staff has been focused more on overnight parking restrictions the council wants to enact.

-- Contact staff writer David Garrick at (760) 740-5468 or dgarrick@nctimes.com.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/02 ... _19_08.txt

An advocate for immigrant rights reiterated his opposition Tuesday to Escondido's plans to make it illegal for day laborers to solicit motorists from public sidewalks, saying that cities should not be enacting laws to address federal problems such as illegal immigration.

This is the only argument these illegal invader advocates ever use, oh besides the race card. I guess since it's supposedly a federal issue, states should be expected to just ignore the problem until the invasion is complete and there's nothing left to fight for.

Bank robbery is also a federal crime, but I don't suspect the local police would be asked to stand idly and let a federal thief escape into the cover of darkness.

Day laborers wait along Quince Street Tuesday afternoon.

Larry, Curley and Moe aka Lucho, Cucho and Mono

What's wrong with "NO LOITERING" laws, they work where i'm from.

Originally Posted by Shadow

What's wrong with "NO LOITERING" laws, they work where i'm from.

They worked in Mexifornia years ago too, I remember.