Thread: Palm Bay Council advances undocumented worker ordinance

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.d ... 1/60804001

August 4, 2006


Palm Bay Council advances
undocumented worker ordinance

Final vote set for Aug. 17

BY LINDA JUMP
FLORIDA TODAY

PALM BAY — By a 4-1 vote after 11 p.m. Thursday, city council members approved for final vote an ordinance that will fine employers who hire undocumented workers in the city. The final vote will be Aug. 17.

Only Mayor John Mazziotti opposed the measure, saying he was concerned about enforcement and how the code enforcement officer would use his power to investigate.

“How can we go on a job site without being accused of profiling?” the mayor asked.

Councilman Andy Anderson last month asked for the ordinance. He said he’s frustrated that the federal government isn’t handling the issue of illegal and undocumented workers effectively.

Anderson likes the revised ordinance, which removed language about illegal aliens and immigrants.

“It doesn’t make people feel like it’s a targeting issue or racial profiling,” Anderson said.

The council unanimously approved a resolution requested by Mazziotti asking the Department of Homeland Security to provide resources needed to prevent the employment of undocumented immigrants.

The ordinance allows the code enforcement office to cite employers with a civil infraction of $250.

Two dozen speak

Two dozen people spoke, sometimes heatedly, for and against the ordinance, citing issues of equality or economic fairness.

City Attorney Nick Tsamoutales said he believes the ordinance can be defended in court. And representatives from four agencies that represent immigrants said they’ll legally challenge the ordinance, if it is approved.

“Go ahead, sue us. You know why? When we win, it will become binding throughout the U.S. This will be a model,” councilman Ed Geier said.

“We will sue,” Samuel Lopez, president of United Third World, said after the meeting.

Lopez was angered that a group of day laborers reported they had been asked for their green cards and were arrested Thursday in Palm Bay after being stopped for speeding.

“This is what this ordinance is going to trigger,” he said.

But City Manager Lee Feldman said the four men arrested are accused of having false identification cards and were not targeted and detained without cause.

Teresa Lopez said the ordinance will spread to other cities.

“This ordinance has begun the hatred. Hispanic people have been targeted,” she said.

Mary Gundrum, an immigration attorney with the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, based in Miami, and several other speakers said only the federal government should govern the treatment of undocumented workers. Speakers from her organization, the American Civil Liberties Union and Florida Commission on Human Relations and United Third Bridge threatened to sue if the ordinance passed.

Kevin Aflin of the Brevard County chapter of the ACLU asked council members to wait until suits against a similar ordinance passed in Hazelton, Pa., are decided.

“Neither the city of Palm Bay nor the thousands of other cities can take on that,” he said.

Kyle Stephens of Miami said the ordinance encourages “anti-immigrant hysteria and racial profiling.”

Ella Austin of Palm Bay said undocumented workers would like to be legal workers but many can’t.

“And some of us know by the way we look, talk and dress that we are the ones who will be stopped,” Austin said.

Some speak in favor of law

Others spoke in support of the law.

Sabrina Anderson, Andy’s wife, asked those who don’t want to lose their jobs to illegal workers to call City Hall.

“One hundred percent of illegal aliens are criminal,” she said. “Protect the jobs of my children.”

Michael Bursing, a 20-year Palm Bay resident, urged the council to “have the guts” to pass the ordinance.

Resident Dale Davis said the ordinance is fair. He asked for an interlocal agreement with Palm Bay police, the county sheirff’s office and the Coast Guard to enforce the illegal worker laws.

Said John Russo, “All we’re asking for is for them to be legal.”

Contact Jump at 409-1423 or ljump@brevard.gannett.com.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com

Palm Bay moves to ban hiring of illicit immigrants
Victor Manuel Ramos
Sentinel Staff Writer

August 4, 2006

PALM BAY -- An ordinance that would punish employers of illegal immigrants was approved on first reading Thursday night amid the support of most who spoke at an extended meeting -- even as some Hispanic- and immigrant-advocacy groups denounced it as discriminatory.

The City Council voted 4-1 in favor of Palm Bay's crackdown on the employers. Mayor John Mazziotti voted against the measure because he said he did not see how the ordinance could be enforced. The proposal has yet to return for a final reading and vote later this month.

The ordinance, introduced by council member Andy Anderson, would make it unlawful for "any business entity" to hire illegal immigrants. It would give code-enforcement officers the power to investigate cases and apply monetary penalties.

The debate has made the south Brevard city the focus of activists on both sides of the debate as state and national groups zero in on the ordinance.

Experts selected by the city testified at length in favor of restrictions. Area Hispanics and immigrant-advocates complained of feeling assailed over what they see as the city's targeting of their community.

Palm Bay resident Paul Walker called illegal immigration an "epidemic" and urged the council's approval of even tougher ordinances.

"The solution before the city council is so weak that it doesn't even classify as [a] Band-Aid," Walker told the council. "An illegal alien doesn't offer anything constructive to the community. The only ones who seem to benefit are the employers and landlords."

On the other hand, Palm Bay resident Brenda Espinosa said illegal immigrants contributed the city's recovery after the hurricanes and are an integral part of the country's life, even serving in the military.

"I'm appalled at the hypocrisy in this room," Espinosa said. "When the hurricanes hit Brevard County, Palm Bay looked like a Third World country. I saw all types of immigrants working on roofs, putting tarps."

Anderson's proposal calls the hiring of illegal immigrants "an unfair business practice" that creates undue competition for businesses that operate legally and drives down wages for everyone else.

The council member, dismissing criticism from Hispanics as that of a "vocal minority," said he put forth the ordinance to discourage illegal hiring in the area's construction businesses.

The move came as more towns, cities, and states across the country have joined in the fray in what to do with the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States as Congress stalls on the issue.

The debate of local enforcement was ignited by Hazelton, Pa., which passed a more restrictive ordinance last month. Avon Park, another Florida city, recently defeated a proposal even more restrictive than Palm Bay's.

The Palm Bay ordinance "could become a national model," said David Caulkett, of the Floridians for Immigration Enforcement advocacy group.

Opponents say the proposal is mean-spirited and creates a climate of fear for all Hispanics, who are concerned they could be accosted at their workplaces if they appear to be immigrants.

"There is no way we would not challenge these laws," said Mary Gundrum, an attorney for the Miami-based Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center. "These laws would be bound to result in discrimination against Latinos . . . because the employers would be required to do more to monitor their employees. They would be scared to hire Latinos."

Some Hispanic leaders in Brevard said they were offended by the city's fixation on the issue.

Those local advocacy groups have been joined by the Florida Immigrant Coalition, a statewide umbrella group that led the fight against the Avon Park ordinance.

The Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, a New York City advocacy group that often sues against what it considers discriminatory laws, sent a representative to Palm Bay.

"We are here to show our support," fund spokesman John Garcia said. "These ordinances tend to create an atmosphere of tension, fear and harassment."

The disputed ordinance has been watered down from one that would have imposed misdemeanor charges on employers. It now authorizes $500 fines per violation and imposes two-year bans from work in the city on violators.

"We have the right to say that we don't want you to work as a subcontractor for our city," council member Ed Geier said.

"We have the right to turn around and make the working field as even and level as possible."

Mazziotti, the mayor, introduced another mostly symbolic ordinance that was approved unanimously on first reading.

Mazziotti's resolution calls on the council to send a message to Congress and the federal government, asking them to provide "the necessary manpower and financial resources" for immigration officers to come to Palm Bay and enforce the law.

Victor Manuel Ramos can be reached at vramos@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6186.

Lopez was angered that a group of day laborers reported they had been asked for their green cards and were arrested Thursday in Palm Bay after being stopped for speeding.

I assumed they were arrested for something other than speeding. It amazes me of the arrogance and stupidity of these people. If any of us got arrested for driving without a license, do you think a dozen groups would rush in and sue for us. This is all so gut-wrenching sickening. What's the sense of giving green cards if no one can ask for them? Stupid!

Isn't that what green cards are for?.......makes about as much sense as NOT asking for a driver's license. You have to prove you can legally drive a car, why not prove you are legally in this country. This so-called "profiling" crap is ridiculous. You got a 9 out of 10 chance that person is going to be illegal and the signs are quite obvious. So I would think reasonable suspicion is grounds enough. First of all why should racial profiling apply if they were stopped for speeding. You can't speak English...then I want to see a damn GREEN CARD!