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    FAIR could join Escondido to defend rental ban

    FAIR could join Escondido to defend rental ban

    http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/10 ... _28_06.txt

    By: EDWARD SIFUENTES - Staff Writer

    ESCONDIDO ---- One of the country's well-known immigration restrictionist groups said it is willing to help Escondido defend its controversial new rental law against an almost certain legal challenge.

    Under the complaint-driven law, the city would require landlords to provide proof that tenants are in the country legally. The federal government would verify the tenants' immigration status. Only if the federal immigration officials say the documents are not valid will the city step in and require landlords to remove the tenants.

    A spokesman with the Federation for American Immigration Reform, better known as FAIR, a Washington D.C.-based organization, said last week that they have spoken with Escondido city officials about joining a legal defense team. No agreement appears to have been formalized as of last week, spokesman Ira Mehlman said.

    "I know it's been under discussion," Mehlman said. "I don't know if there's been a decision about that."

    Several city officials said they did not know or could not confirm any possible affiliation with the federation. The City Council passed the ordinance by a 3-2 vote on Oct. 18 and the code is due to take effect Nov. 18.

    Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler said she did not know about discussions with FAIR. Moreover, she said the city should be careful in choosing with whom it partners.

    "I think the city needs to be very careful, because we have our own interests to defend," said Pfeiler, who voted against the ordinance. "If we voted for this, we have to defend it."

    The mayor said city representatives are scheduled to meet with law firms on Wednesday in a process to decide who might represent Escondido in the event of a lawsuit.

    Councilman Sam Abed said he has received many offers of volunteer services and to donate money for the defense of the rental law. But added: "We are still working on the basic defense strategy."

    Escondido City Attorney Jeffrey Epp said attorneys with the federation helped draft the ordinance, which is based on a similar law approved in Hazleton, Pa. That city was sued by the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the groups threatening Escondido's rental ban, and is being defended in part by FAIR.

    The federation was founded in 1978 and boasts of 250,000 members and supporters. The group "seeks to improve border security, to stop illegal immigration," and reduce legal immigration to "more traditional rates of about 300,000 a year."

    One of the group's most well-known local supporters is Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Escondido, who serves on FAIR's national board of advisers and worked as a lobbyist for the group before he was elected to represent the 50th Congressional District. In a phone interview last week, Bilbray said he was not aware of the group's involvement with the city and its new rental law.

    "I personally wasn't involved in that. I've had no contact at all," Bilbray said. "I've been a little predisposed in the last few months."

    Escondido is one of many cities that have drafted or adopted measures that limit illegal immigrant's access to housing and jobs. In July, a new law took effect in Vista that makes it a crime to hire day laborers off the street without first registering with the city.

    The ACLU and the California Rural Legal Assistance, a labor rights group, filed a federal lawsuit against Vista, alleging that its law is unconstitutional.

    Supporters of the Escondido law say that illegal immigrants are overcrowding city apartments. They say it is well within the city's authority to punish landlords who rent to people who are in the country illegally. Opponents say the federal government has exclusive power over immigration laws, and that the courts will strike down any attempts by local or state authorities to usurp that power.

    Bilbray said the rental ban is a "cry for help" to the federal government, which has failed to protect the nation's borders. Others said the ordinance is an ill-conceived policy that will not address overcrowding, but will result in discrimination against Latinos, a community that includes some illegal immigrants, but also many legal residents and U.S. citizens.

    "It is fear," said Bill Flores, a spokesman for the North County Latino rights umbrella group, El Grupo. "Fear that the population of this country is changing; that the demographics will mean a shift in power, which will be unlike what that segment of American society is used to."
    Last edited by Jean; 08-24-2013 at 12:19 AM.

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