Costa Mesa agrees to moratorium on controversial anti-solicitation ordinance

Costa Mesa will stop enforcing its controversial anti-solicitation ordinance following an agreement reached with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, city officials said Tuesday evening.

City Atty. Kimberly Hall Barlow confirmed an earlier report from an ACLU attorney, who said that Costa Mesa agreed to a moratorium on enforcing the ordinance -- which prohibits anyone from actively soliciting work in public streets -- until the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rules on another case challenging a similar ordinance.

In exchange, the ACLU, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund will temporarily hold off pursuing their recently filed lawsuit that alleges Costa Mesa’s ordinance is unconstitutional.

The Daily Pilot has the details here.

-- Mona Shadia in Orange County

Comments

[jsa26]

In my world, this is an issue of do we welcome the undocumented or do we not?

I believe municipalities, states and the federal government have legitimate tax collection issues on these solicitations for commercial transactions.

I wish Los Angeles would address the same issues.

If you feel citizens should volunteer to pay use taxes for Internet sales, all I can say is how can you justify these people not paying income, social security, unemployment and workman's compensation taxed?

[observer]

There should be NO Soliciting Signs in Spanish and English.

The mexicans labors can not read the sign and solicit anyway.

Go away and do not solicit to me at my home!!!

Most of them are illegal.

WHAT part of breaking the law does EVERYONE seem to NOT GET.

WHO gets everything is illegals.

HEALTH EDUCATION AND WELFARE...............

Now look at the state of California........................ BROKE AND GETTING WORSE!!!

[RWh]

In answer to jsa26, I say the we do not welcome illegals (the proper word). They claim they pay their own way but it has been proven time and time again that they do not.
A solution to allowing persons to work legally will have to be done or this cycle will never be broken. In addition, proper tax collection can be accomplished and if they want ot migrate permanently, they get in line.

[hairycarrion]

It's about solicitation, not necessarily undocumented immigrants, jsa26. This also includes, those people who park themselves in front of Whole Foods, Vons, Trader Joes, etc., and ask you to sign petitions, donate money, and so forth. Including religious folk and cult folk like Scientologists who accost you shopping say in an outdoor mall or something similar. It's much broader than those "pesky little brown people crossing the border in search of a better life." Hmmm... reminds me of the same quest most white ancestors adopted when coming here. Oh the hypocrisy. FYI: NAFTA destroyed the Mexican economy, and similar programs and interventions from the U.S. have decimated the economies of Central and some South American countries. So if you don't want these people coming here, look to the cause, you might be surprised.

[avoc]

No, we don't want the undocumented. Nor do we want the annoying people making it difficult to use the airport, the supermarket, whatever. (No one said anything about brown people.) It's called the law (public safety and non-payment of taxes,no licneses) for the "day laborers) and quality of life. People without ID, much less workpapers or contractor licenses or paid taxes, should not be allowed to solicit in the streets--it's not protected speech in any way. People who are annoying but circulating petitions, etc., have a limited right of access to public forums, but should be kept out of the way of people trying to get to work or do errands. And why they are allowed in airports for ANY reason is beyond me. The airport is no public forum, and even if it were, considerations of public safety should preclude them from congregating there.

[jay]

If they are legal residents then they can get a job that doesn't require standing on the street corner like a prostitute. In my experince those people who stand on the corner for work are illegally residing and working in my country taking jobs from americans like myself.