Thread: Escondido moves closer to ordinance against illegal immigran

http://www.mercurynews.com

Posted on Thu, Aug. 17, 2006

SoCal city moves closer to ordinance against illegal immigrants


Associated Press

ESCONDIDO, Calif. - City leaders voted Wednesday night to draw up an ordinance that would punish people who provide jobs and housing to illegal immigrants.

The 3-2 vote followed more than two hours of heated debate from residents.

Councilman Ed Gallo said he hoped the ordinance would help improve the quality of life in this north San Diego suburb by limiting illegal immigration.

"Our charge is to provide for the health and safety of the residents of Escondido," Gallo said. "Is it wrong then to ask them to be here legally?"

But Councilman Ron Newman called the proposal a political ploy by its original sponsor, Councilwoman Marie Waldron, who is seeking re-election.

The ordinance would prohibit landlords from renting to illegal immigrants, revoke the business licenses of companies that hire illegal immigrants, and make English the city's official language.

The law was inspired by a similar measure passed last month in Hazleton, Pa.

Hispanics make up 42 percent of Escondido's population of 142,000.

Love this idea as I'm sure we all do. It's a tragedy that we have to put new laws on the books for something that is already illegal.

I also find a problem with the tone of the above article. The author asks the question, is it wrong to enforce our laws? When the tone should be just the opposite. Get the hell out of our country all illegal aliens. The Hispanic world and many other parts of it are laughing at us for being so stupid in the first place. We all know how 'kind' Mexican authorities are to illegals down there.

Why is there even a discussion about building a wall, arresting and deporting them all?

The days of the free ride should have ended long ago. How can we wake up all the good Americans who don't want to be taken over?

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/08 ... _16_06.txt

Last modified Wednesday, August 16, 2006 11:35 PM PDT

Escondido votes to draft ban on renting to illegal immigrants

By: DAVID FRIED - Staff Writer

ESCONDIDO ---- Drawing on similar efforts around the country, a divided City Council voted Wednesday to begin drafting an ordinance that would ban illegal immigrants from renting property in Escondido.

Before casting its 3-2 vote, the council listened to more than two hours of impassioned pleas from community members on the merits or faults of the proposal, the brainchild of Councilwoman Marie Waldron.

Cast as a debate on how to combat overcrowding in the city's residential neighborhoods, Waldron's plan hinges on prohibiting landlords from renting their property to anyone who cannot prove United States citizenship.


"It's not the only cause," Waldron said, "but one of the root causes of overcrowding is illegal immigration."

Few of the five dozen speakers from the overflow crowd, however, made mention of residential overcrowding, focusing instead on illegal immigration.

Those in favor of the proposed ban called it necessary to combat what they termed "an invasion" of illegal immigrants and a way to counter the federal government's failure to enforce existing laws.

Those opposed said it would divide the city, unfairly burden landlords, cost unknown amounts in legal challenges, and smacked of racism.

The crowd of residents filled the chambers and spilled outdoors, where the proceedings were shown on television. Escondido police assigned extra patrol officers to monitor the meeting as a precaution, but the meeting was peaceful, police Sgt. Justin Murphy said.

The debate pitted residents, property owners, business professionals and military veterans against each other, each arguing their beliefs.

Charles Mallon of San Diego said that, as a Korean War veteran, he fought to keep his country and its borders safe.

"If we were to enforce our current immigration laws, we wouldn't be having this hearing today," Mallon said. "And some of our speakers wouldn't be here, either."

Shortly after, Vicente Rodriguez, also a veteran from San Diego, said the ban was a slap in the face of all he had fought for.

"I spent those years (in the military) so we could be free," Rodriguez, 67, said. "I didn't spend those years so that my citizenship could be challenged if I come to rent a place in Escondido."

Landlords countered that the proposed ordinance would set them up for potential lawsuits under state and federal fair housing laws, and that, when it came to overcrowding in Escondido, the council and others had presented many allegations, and few verified facts.

"We need to know how bad is this situation," said one Escondido landlord, who suggested the city perform a detailed study of the problem. "Then you can make some decision."

The immigration debate began even before the council discussion started, with a brief camera battle that erupted shortly before the meeting, with both sides snapping pictures of the other.

Anti-illegal immigrant protesters ended the traditional recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance with the phrase, "with liberty and justice for all citizens."

And when Waldron entered Council Chambers, supporters of the proposal gave her a round of raucous cheers, followed by boos from opponents of the ban.

Waldron first pitched the idea early last month, shortly after the city of Hazleton, Pa., approved its own legislation. In June, Hazleton's council passed what it called an Illegal Immigration Relief Act for the town of 31,000.

The ordinance is considerably broader than Waldron's proposal, not only banning rentals to illegal immigrants, but denying business licenses to companies that hire undocumented workers and establishing English as the city's official language.

The Pennsylvania city's action set off an echo of similar legislation in a handful of small towns along the East Coast.

Councilman Ed Gallo said the quality of life issues associated with illegal immigration has been building to a boiling point for decades, and that it was the council's duty to combat it.

"Our charge is to provide for the health and safety of the residents of Escondido," Gallo said. "Is it wrong then to ask them to be here legally?"

But Councilman Ron Newman ---- who along with Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler voted against drafting an ordinance ---- said he understood why the issue had garnered so much support, but denounced the proposal as a political ploy by Waldron, who is seeking re-election.

"What politicians do is they attach their name to a popular issue and do it during an election cycle," Newman said. "It's done on a national level. Done on the state level. And now it's taking place in Escondido, and it's ugly. And it should be exposed for what it is: The Hispanic community is being used as pawns."

Waldron denied the accusation.

As an example of the problem, Waldron cited Mission Park, Escondido's poorest neighborhood. The area has the dubious distinction of claiming the fastest-growing poverty rate in the state, according to a recent city-commissioned report. It is also an area where signs of overcrowding ---- such as over-parked driveways and streets ---- are rampant.

While there is no way of determining how many Mission Park residents are undocumented immigrants, the majority were born in other countries, especially Mexico, according to census data. And 66 percent speak primarily Spanish, according to the city's survey of the area.

About 42 percent of Escondido's 141,000 residents are Latino, up from about 16 percent in 1990, according to the San Diego Association of Governments.

Newman said that passing such an ordinance was tantamount to "paint(ing) a big red target on our city that says, 'Please come forward and sue us.' "

Indeed, any potential ban in Escondido is almost sure to draw legal challenges, as has already happened with other cities' efforts to pass local immigration legislation.

This week, a coalition of civil rights groups filed a lawsuit against Hazleton. And in nearby Vista, the city has had to hire an outside attorney to help combat legal challenges to its recently passed ordinance requiring individuals to register with the city before hiring day laborers.

While Vista officials have not said how much they anticipate the legal battle will cost, the private attorney handling the case is paid $250 an hour, according to Vista's city attorney.

-- Contact David Fried at (760) 740-5416 or dfried@nctimes.com.

Congrats Escondido for taking the first step. It's about time this state started doing something.

http://www.signonsandiego.com

Escondido to pursue housing ordinance

Illegal immigrants focus of proposal
By Booyeon Lee
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
August 17, 2006

ESCONDIDO – A divided City Council decided last night to draft a law that could force illegal immigrants from their homes.

About 60 people addressed the council before it voted 3-2 to draft a law that would penalize landlords for housing illegal immigrants. About 100 people, mostly Latinos, watched the meeting on a television outside the chamber because it was filled to capacity.


Some called the proposal inhumane and racist, while others said such a law would be the best way to protect the city from a steady stream of illegal immigrants. Escondido joins about a dozen other cities across the country, mainly in Pennsylvania and other parts of the East Coast, contemplating ways to circumvent the federal government and take on the problem of illegal immigration.
Last month, Hazleton, Pa., became the first city to pass a similar law. Hazleton now faces a federal lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund.

At yesterday's meeting, Councilwoman Marie Waldron urged her colleagues to follow Hazleton's lead and “create an ordinance that prevents landlords from renting to illegals.”

Waldron, who introduced the idea last month, was greeted by a chorus of booing and clapping when she took her seat on the dais yesterday.

“This is not about racism,” Charles Mallon told the council last night. “This is about whether you're here in this country legally or illegally. If you're here illegally, you're an illegal alien, not an immigrant.”

Immigration activist Enrique Morones disagreed. “Racism is not defined by words. It is defined by actions. This is not about overcrowding,” Morones said. “Laws at times need to be challenged. Slavery was a law.”

Others said while the problem of illegal immigration is plaguing the city, a local law penalizing landlords for housing undocumented residents isn't the answer to the federal government's inability to secure the Mexican border.
George McClure, an assistant principal of San Pasqual High School, likened the proposed Escondido ordinance to sending a firetruck to fight a 10,000-acre brush fire.

Louise Connor told the council it is unfair to make landlords a “scapegoat for all the things the federal government has not been able to achieve.”

“There are so many kinds of IDs. So many kinds that even (the) Border Patrol makes mistakes,” said Connor, who described herself a landlord. “I'm not always going to be able to tell what's authentic.”

Waldron was supported by Councilmen Ed Gallo and Sam Abed, who said it's time for the city to crack down on illegal immigrants inundating its neighborhoods, many of them squeezing into housing intended for single-family units.

“Make no mistake, folks. We're being invaded,” said Gallo, who added that Southern California is slowly becoming a jurisdiction of Mexico.

Escondido, a city of 140,000, has experienced an ongoing influx of Latino immigrants. About 42 percent of Escondido's population is Latino, up from 16 percent in 1990, according to the San Diego Association of Governments.

Councilman Ron Newman called the timing of the proposal “ugly” and accused Waldron of using it as a political platform. He said she introduced the idea around the time candidates began filing for two open council seats. Newman's and Waldron's seats are up for re-election in November. Newman is not seeking a second term.

“We had no petitions, no inundation of e-mails. No one is demanding we do something today,” Newman said. “This is not about the undocumented people in our community. This is about politics. The Hispanic community is being used as pawns.”

Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler said city officials are not trained to verify citizenship papers and the problem of illegal immigration should be dealt with at the border and in the work force.

Before the meeting, about a dozen Minutemen supporters carried signs and waved flags outside while speakers addressed the council in chambers, where no placards were allowed. “Stop Mexican Invasion: terrorists, gangs and criminals” read signs carried by San Diego Minutemen.

Latino activists toted signs reading “Stop the Racism” above a picture of Waldron X-ed out.

Some 20 Escondido police officers were called in to keep the peace, but no incidents were reported, Escondido police Sgt. Dana Ray said. After the meeting, a mostly Latino crowd of about 120 people held another rally, attended by members of the ACLU and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Claire Vanaelstyn supported the ordinance by waving a U.S. flag outside council chambers. “It's just common sense,” Vanaelstyn said, adding that to enforce some laws, some people may need to be questioned more than others. “I'm Filipino,” she said. “I don't mind if they ask for documents since I look brown.”

Staff writer Elena Gaona contributed to this report.

“Make no mistake, folks. We're being invaded,” said Gallo, who added that Southern California is slowly becoming a jurisdiction of Mexico."

Seems like I'm hearing the invasion word used more lately. Good. That is what it is, an invasion.

Congrats Escondido! Hard to believe this is happening in CA at all. Any other cities up to climbing on the bandwagon of taking care of their cities and citizens?