Mayor Criticized for Day Laborer Remark

* In remarks to reporters about the “day laborer” problem in downtown Moorpark, Mayor Lawrason stated that he didn’t think the day laborers are “doing anything particularly illegal.” Say what? Perhaps the mayor would like to give us an example of a crime which isn’t “particularly illegal.”

If a man urinates in a parking lot, is that not particularly illegal? If a man makes lewd remarks to a woman walking into a store, is that not particularly illegal? Is loitering not particularly illegal? If a contractor hires a day laborer “under the table,” in violation of tax-withholding and a myriad of other federal and state employment laws, is that not particularly illegal?

And based on results of past INS raids on local day laborer sites, one can reasonably conclude that many, if not most, of these individuals are illegal aliens. Does the mayor consider illegal immigration to be “not particularly illegal?”

I could be wrong, but I suspect that if the “day laborer site” were to be moved from High Street to, say, the mayor’s front yard, the mayor would suddenly have a much more lucid understanding of the law.

RON GOLDEN

Moorpark