A Cave Creek anti-solicitation ordinance that was struck down in federal court could be the bellwether of a provision targeting day laborers in Arizona's immigration law.

The provision, part of Senate Bill 1070 signed into law last week, makes it illegal to impede the flow of traffic by picking up workers.


Critics argue the law unfairly targets day laborers and Latinos in the statewide crackdown that has drawn worldwide attention. Cave Creek had a similar ordinance that was deemed unconstitutional in 2008.

"Anybody who's looking at challenging the law is going to look at that piece," said Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

The state provision makes it illegal for drivers to hire, attempt to hire or pick up passengers for work if the vehicle impedes the normal flow of traffic. It also prohibits workers from entering vehicles that impede traffic.

Cave Creek and at least six California communities have already set precedents against anti-solicitation ordinances, Saenz said.

Cave Creek's ordinance, passed in 2007, prohibited any person from standing "on or adjacent to a street or highway (to) solicit or attempt to solicit employment, business or contributions from the occupant of any vehicle." It was designed to discourage day laborers and would-be employers from gathering in the northeast Valley town.

The defense fund and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against Cave Creek's ordinance, arguing that it violated the First Amendment's right to free speech and the 14th Amendment's right to equal protection under the law.

In a 2008 ruling, U.S. District Judge Roslyn Silver banned enforcement of the ordinance with an injunction, saying Cave Creek provided "no evidence that traffic safety is endangered by day laborers soliciting employment from vehicle occupants."

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