Judge Blocks Arrests of Day Laborers

In a victory for day laborers, a federal judge has blocked the city of Redondo Beach from arresting workers who look for jobs on public sidewalks.

“This is an important, full vindication for day laborers who seek only the right to fill jobs that willing employers are offering,” said San Francisco-based attorney Robert Rubin, who represented the workers.

The decision follows a fall 2004 sting operation, in which Redondo Beach police arrested more than 60 day laborers under an ordinance aimed at better controlling traffic. The workers responded by marching on City Hall and filing a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. Judge Consuelo B. Marshall then issued a temporary injunction against the city.

The judge handed down her latest ruling Monday, the same day hundreds of thousands of protesters -- including many day laborers -- joined in marches for immigrants’ rights.

The increasing number of day laborers and the way cities respond to them have become part of the ongoing immigration debate playing out in Washington, D.C., and around the nation. For example, proposed federal legislation would require day laborer centers to check the legal status of workers and would bar cities and states from requiring companies to build day-laborer hiring centers.

The Redondo Beach ordinance, which was passed in the late 1980s, bars people from standing on public streets, sidewalks and curbs while soliciting work from passing motor vehicles. The city said the ordinance was needed to control traffic and prevent a public nuisance.

But in the court decision, Marshall wrote that the ordinance was unconstitutional because it was too broad and could conceivably restrict people from hailing taxis, or Girl Scouts from selling cookies outside of their school.

Marshall also noted that the workers did not have other places to wait for work, such as a hiring hall.

City Atty. Mike Webb said Tuesday that he was frustrated by the decision and planned to appeal, unless directed otherwise by the mayor or City Council.

“Police continue to get complaints from both residents and businesses in the area,” Webb said. “This has been the only solution that has worked.”

Webb said the issue was never about illegal immigration, but rather about public safety. But now, he said, “Maybe you just can’t avoid that issue anymore.”

If the city decides not to appeal, Webb said officials will need to either revise the ordinance or figure out another option.

Rubin, the attorney for the workers, said he hopes Marshall’s decision will send a message to other cities with similar ordinances or plans for such laws to reconsider.

Braulio Gonzalez, a Redondo Beach day laborer for more than two decades, said he felt relieved that workers would no longer have to worry about police.

“We are so happy,” said Gonzalez, a legal immigrant from Guatemala. “We are ready to make a party.”