Day Labor issue heads into courtroom

Anti-illegal immigration activists Eileen Garcia and husband George Riviere will have their day in court Monday against the city’s Day Labor Site.

A lawsuit filed by conservative legal group Judicial Watch on behalf of the Laguna couple will go before a judge almost a year after the case was filed Oct. 3.

The lawsuit contends taxpayer funds are being spent illegally by the city on the labor center, which provides a gathering place for anyone seeking day labor or seeking a worker. It is illegal to solicit work any other place in Laguna Beach.

Judicial Watch says the city is aiding and abetting illegal workers in violation of federal immigration laws by assisting in running the site.

The site operators — which are overseen by the Crosscultural Council, a church-affiliated group — do not verify a worker’s immigration status.

“When you have governments — no matter how small — disobeying the law, then you are [subverting] the foundations of our government,” said Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch.

This is the group’s second lawsuit seeking to halt a day-worker site. A suit filed on behalf of residents of Herndon, Virginia never went to trial. But the publicity from the case caused such a stir that a new city council was voted in and they shut the site down themselves.

That suit was a catalyst to change in Herndon, Fitton claims. Even though it wasn’t a court win, the Washington, D.C.-based firm sees it as a victory. They hope to do the same in Laguna.

“[Laguna Beach] was a case where we thought the issue of taxpayer support for day labor was a perfect fit for our mission,” Fitton said.

City Manager Ken Frank denies that Laguna is intentionally aiding and abetting unlawful workers.

He says the city spends money on the center in order keep workers — legal or not — from seeking work on city streets.

“It’s not anything to do about immigration,” Frank said. “It’s about taking a situation that the federal government can’t control and making it bearable for our residents.”

Before the Day Labor Center was established, workers would congregate on street corners in North Laguna to get jobs. The city established the site to keep them off the street and passed an ordinance against looking for day work elsewhere in the city.

Taxpayer money was later used to install portable toilets, a drinking fountain and a fence. The fence discourages them from thronging onto Laguna Canyon Road.

One of the points of contention in the Judicial Watch suit is whether workers have to prove their legal status at the point of hire. Judicial Watch contends the labor site should verify legal employment status under federal law.

But Phil Kohn, Laguna’s city attorney, points out that verification of occasional workers isn’t required, a loophole he believes will exonerate the city.

“While there may be anecdotal information [about illegal hires], the city has no such actual knowledge nor do they have an obligation to check that information,” Kohn said.

Verifying workers’ legal status isn’t required for services that are “sporadic, irregular, or intermittent,” according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website. Nor is it required for work done by an independent contractor.

If the city loses the case, the local government will be forced to stop giving any money toward the site’s operation.

Frank said there are two options if that happens — Laguna can let the site run as is without city involvement, or it can repeal the ordinance restricting workers to the Laguna Canyon site and allow workers to solicit work throughout the city.

Frank doesn’t think Lagunans will be happy with either result.

“A lot of people are going to be really angry at the Minute people,” Frank said.

Garcia did not return a reporter’s call seeking comment.

The trial starts at 8:30 a.m. Monday at the Central Justice Center, 700 Civic Dr., Santa Ana.