Today a district court judge in Arizona granted an order to stop the enforcement of a discriminatory anti-solicitation ordinance in the town of Cave Creek, Arizona because it violated the constitutional right of free speech. The Immigrants’ Rights Project of the ACLU, with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the ACLU of Arizona, filed Lopez v. Town of Cave Creek, to challenge Cave Creek’s ordinance which makes it illegal “to stand on or adjacent to a street or highway and solicit, or attempt to solicit, employment, business or contributions from the occupant of any vehicle.” By issuing the order, the Judge is stating that the plaintiffs will suffer harm if the ordinance continues to be enforced and that the challenge has a good chance of succeeding in a final ruling against the town.
The defendants in the case are all day laborers who used to solicit work in Cave Creek before the ordinance went into effect in October 2007, after which point they were afraid to seek work there because they would face a $250 fine.
This is a victory for freedom of speech, but it is also yet another message from the courts that local governments will not be allowed to target immigrants in this way. “Now the sheriffs can’t use the ordinance as an excuse to harass people because of the color of their skin,” said Hector Lopez, one of the plaintiffs. “Standing on the side of the road is how I let people know that I’m available for work…. Day laborers are hardworking people and provide a valuable service to this community that we are a part of; our kids go to school here and we work, spend money and go to church here.”
June 2nd, 2008 at 11:56 pm
i think its great that they stopped this from happening. They need to pass a law in the mean time to help the families also especially the ones that have sickly children and the us spouses cant afford for them to get deported
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:29 pm
You know what you should go after? Those silly zoning ordnances that prevent people from running a business out of their home. It’s the same thing, right, a municipality putting limits on how work/employment can be conducted? Or do you really only care about this because of it’s potential to impact ‘Immigrants’ and do you not care about protecting non-immigrants who’s right to run a buiness out of their home are impacted by zoning laws? The impact of the two as far as rights are concerned are the same, yet you only protest one. Why?
June 3rd, 2008 at 7:04 pm
In my city they prevent road-side solicitation by having a day labor center. This reduces the safety risks of having pedestrians and cars mixing. I assume in the Arizona case they didn’t have such an alternative.
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:27 pm
they need to protect all the people were the land of the free suppose to be but they dont let anyone be free
June 5th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
you are all ucking nuts. These people are here illegally ship their asses back home, I am sick and tired of paying for all their healthcare, babies and crime. They are so hard working then go back to Mexico and build roads and home with all the money they have stolen from us taxpayers, soon there will be nothing left and you liberal assholes will wonder why the towel heads are raping your familylike they have this country ACLU sucks!
June 6th, 2008 at 9:51 am
day laborers or prostitution ? whats the difference ?
June 9th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
I have taken the course work, the tests, and am in the process of applying for real-estate lic. I had a felony conviction fourty four years ago
it seems unjust to require me to identify all of the details that have happened that long ago, since I have had no ongoing criminal behavior. Why is it that when a person has paid their debt to society, according to the court sentences, and had their civil rights restored, that these old records are still required as a matter of public record, and can be required as part of a job or licensing application. Does anyone out there know of any work being done to do away with antiquated behaviors that get in the way of a persons ability to make a living in a free society? ACLU do you have your ears on? There are many of your fellow americans that have a felony record, that are weeded out from job potential far after the single episode in their life has been dealt with and put behing them. There needs to be some king of a general amnesty that occurs after a given elapse of time, for any non violent offense. Where is the compassion for a person that has already paid the price for their mistake.
June 9th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
By the way, what’s with a persons criminal history being available on the internet, even if ten plus years have passed with no repeat offenses?