http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/01 ... _13_07.txt

Escondido day-laborer law a possibility

By: PAUL EAKINS - Staff Writer

ESCONDIDO ---- In its effort to remove illegal immigrants from the city, the Escondido City Council first tried to prevent landlords from renting to them with an ultimately doomed housing ordinance.

Now, some council members say they not only hope to rewrite and bring back that ordinance, but are considering a law regulating the hiring of day laborers similar to a legally embattled ordinance passed in Vista last year.

The idea is among several that council members said they are considering after passing a resolution Wednesday that reaffirms the city's opposition to illegal immigration.

"We want to be on the offensive, basically to take our city back," Councilwoman Marie Waldron, who has led the anti-illegal immigration charge, said Thursday. "We want to enhance our economy, (and) have safe and healthy neighborhoods again."

The resolution, which passed 3-2, asks the federal government to give local governments the ability to enforce immigration laws. Escondido council members have said that illegal immigrants are having a negative effect on the city, causing such problems as overcrowding, an increase in crime, and overburdened schools, hospitals and social services.

But Kevin Keenan, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial Counties, which brought lawsuits against both Escondido and Vista for their controversial ordinances, said Waldron has some bad ideas.

"I would describe what Ms. Waldron's talking about as a cornucopia of unconstitutional measures and expensive lawsuits," Keenan said Friday after being told about Waldron's ideas.

As it did with the housing ordinance, Escondido may overstep its bounds as a city government, he said.

"It's not clear what exactly she's proposing on these other issues, so we'll have to see," Keenan said. "She'd do better to stop trying to be a local office of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and instead target problems the city is facing in a way that the laws allow."

Regulating day laborers

Waldron has said that Escondido doesn't have a serious problem with day laborers, largely due to a hiring hall where laborers can register to be hired and consequently don't need to seek employment on street corners. However, she said Thursday that an increasing number of day laborers seeking work in some neighborhoods has become a concern.

Waldron also said that Escondido should take precautions to ensure more day laborers don't end up here because of the passage of Vista's day laborer law, which sent many of those seeking work to that city's fringes.

"We don't want to see people that normally would be in Vista coming to Escondido," Waldron said.

The Vista ordinance, passed by its City Council in June and that went into effect in July, requires anyone who hires day laborers to register with the city, display a certificate in their car window and give written terms of employment to workers.

The ordinance faces a legal challenge by the ACLU as well as the California Rural Legal Assistance Inc. of Oceanside, which claims the ordinance restrains free speech and is discriminatory. However, a U.S. District Court judge in August denied a request for a temporary restraining order to stop enforcement of the ordinance.

The lawsuit is still pending in federal court.

Escondido faced a similar legal battle over an ordinance passed in October banning landlords from renting property to illegal immigrants, making it the first California city to do so.

That ordinance, however, didn't fare as well as the Vista law.

In November, the ACLU, the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund and other civil rights organizations filed a lawsuit challenging the law's constitutionality and requested a temporary restraining order as well.

Later that month, a federal judge issued the restraining order blocking the city from enforcing the housing ordinance. In December, Escondido city leaders dropped support for the ordinance, saying the pending legal battle would be too costly.

Waldron didn't say what form an Escondido day-laborer law would take, noting she wants to wait on the outcome of the lawsuit against the Vista ordinance.

Escondido Councilmen Ed Gallo and Sam Abed have been the other two adamant supporters of measures to stop illegal immigration.

Councilman Dick Daniels, elected in November, said during his campaign that he supported the city's housing ordinance. However, Daniels voted against last week's illegal immigration resolution, saying it doesn't implement any real action to fight illegal immigration and that it would further tarnish Escondido's image.

Escondido Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler, who voted against the housing ordinance last year as well as last week's illegal immigration resolution, said Friday she would support an ordinance regulating day laborers, but also wants to wait for the Vista lawsuit to be decided.

"We've had businesses complaining about day laborers for some time, and if we could come up with a solution, that would be great," Pfeiler said.

Other solutions

In addition to bringing back the housing ordinance and regulating day laborers, Waldron said she would like to find ways to prevent other employers from hiring illegal immigrants and would like to get the Escondido Police Department more involved in enforcing immigration laws.

Gallo said Friday that he also supports these ideas and said the city should seek out resources that could help in the anti-illegal immigration effort.

He said the Police Department could partner with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement through a program that trains police officers to enforce federal immigration laws.

Gallo suggested one or two officers could be trained to screen individuals arrested by the police to determine their immigration or residency status. If they are illegally living in the United States, they then could be handed over to the federal government for deportation, he said.

Businesses and consumers also could have a hand in promoting the use of legal workers through a new program provided by the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

Called "FAIR Approved," the program certifies businesses that only hire those who are legally able to work in the United States. The businesses then put a sticker in their window indicating this certification and alerting consumers who don't support the hiring of undocumented workers.

"They can shop wherever they want, but they may prefer to shop or do business with companies who have the FAIR label," Gallo said.

Waldron acknowledged future ordinances related to illegal immigration could face costly legal challenges, but said action still needs to be taken.

"We're certainly cognizant of the taxpayer money," Waldron said. "On the other hand, when you look at the cost of not doing anything, I feel that it would exceed what it would cost us to move ahead with logical, defensible measures."

Keenan, of the ACLU, said his organization would be keeping a close eye on Escondido.

"This City Council is distinguishing itself in the county for constitutional abuses, and we're now looking at everything Escondido does closely," Keenan said.