Local News in Brief : Setback on Taxi Dancers

A federal judge Thursday rejected a Los Angeles dance hall company’s request for a court order that would prevent immigration officials from raiding its clubs while it seeks temporary visas to import Latino immigrants as taxi dancers.

In rejecting the request for an injunction filed by Seven Star Inc., U.S. District Judge Irving Hill sided with federal officials, who have thus far denied such visas on the grounds that the jobs do not meet the federal definition of temporary work.

Under the the new immigration law, which imposes sanctions on employers who hire illegal aliens, employers can seek special permission to import temporary foreign workers to replace those lost under the new immigration restrictions.

Most requests in Los Angeles thus far have come from garment manufacturers. The requests are opposed by union officials, who argue that the arrangement would depress wages and promote poor working conditions.

In the Seven Star case, a garment workers union lawyer entered the case on the side of the government, and a garment manufacturer’s lawyer sided with the dance hall firm, which hires immigrants fluent in Spanish and adept at Latin dancing for its primarily Latino clientele at several downtown Los Angeles dance halls.