Thread: Riverside NJ looks to revise immigration ordinance

Thursday, October 26, 2006


By JIM WALSH
Courier-Post Staff

RIVERSIDE
The township committee on Wednesday night moved to bolster an illegal-immigrant ordinance that is the target of two lawsuits.

"This is a substantial revision," township solicitor Doug Heinold said after committee members unanimously approved the amended ordinance on first reading.

The action came just days after a group of local businesspeople challenged the measure in state court, saying it was discriminatory, overly vague and unfair to local merchants.

A separate suit, filed in August by a Latino clergy group, is pending in federal court.

The ordinance, which was approved in July, is not yet being enforced. It threatens fines of $1,000 to $2,000 for landlords who house illegal immigrants and employers who hire them.

The amended ordinance, although not a direct response to the lawsuits, "answers a lot of the questions that had been asked about the ordinance," said Heinold.

He said the changes were based on a model ordinance provided by a Washington, D.C., think tank, the Immigration Reform Law Institute, which is expected to help Riverside in its legal battles. Similar revisions are being adopted by other communities that have attempted to restrict illegal immigration, such as Hazleton, Pa., he said.

The revised measure "has a lot more information, a lot more substance," said Heinold. "We've laid it out more clearly through definitions, particularly for enforcement."

Legal challenges to the measure note in part that immigration control is the responsibility of the federal government, but the revised ordinance states the federal government "has woefully foresaken the enforcement of immigration law."

It also notes the measure is aimed at employers and landlords, not directly at illegal immigrants, and is not intended to restrict immigrants' access to emergency care or legal assistance.

Supporters say the ordinance is needed to curb a growing population of illegal immigrants, many of them from Brazil. Mayor Charles Hilton Jr. in July estimated up to 3,500 illegal immigrants lived here.

About one-third of local immigrants have left since the ordinance was passed, hurting local businesses, according to David Verduin, a businessman and plaintiff in the recent lawsuit. The suit was filed in Superior Court in Mount Holly.

Spokesmen for the organizations challenging the measure in court could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The revised ordinance also spells out in more detail the conditions it says are caused by the influx of immigrants.

It says illegal immigrants are victims of "stacking," a process where landlords charge excessive rates to illegal immigrants, creating and fostering overcrowded conditions. It notes a fire in June forced about 20 immigrants to flee from a local Delaware Avenue home.

Oct 26, 2006 11:25 am US/Eastern

Riverside Revises Ordinance On Illegal Immigration
(AP) RIVERSIDE, N.J. Riverside Township's committee is revising an ordinance that penalizes those who employ or lodge illegal immigrants.

The amended version, which was unanimously approved on first reading Wednesday, explains the purpose of the ordinance. It faces two lawsuits, claiming the rules are discriminatory and vague.

The amended ordinance says the federal government isn't enforcing immigration law, and goes on to say the rules don't directly target immigrants.

The original ordinance, which was adopted in July and is not being enforce, threatens fines of up to two thousand dollars for anyone in the Burlington County town who houses or employs illegal immigrants.


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