Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 08-08-2006 ‎(workshop)‎ — reading text

Page 2 of2 Zachyra Rodriguez, a Columbus resident, told the crowd Wednesday night she came to America in her childhood as an II/! IIfIIIItt. illegal immigrant from Panama. Thank God that I was given that opportunity," said the mother of three, who said she is now an American citizen. " Why not give these people an opportunity as well?" You guys say, " God bless America,'" Rodriguez told committee members. "You have to think twice because God is love and this is not love." Many of the measure' s supporters say they just want immigrants to obey the law. Come here legally," Alissa Cheeseman, 23, of Riverside, said. " Don' t come under the radar." Others said outsiders are causing problems in Riverside. They have 15 or 20 people ( in a house)," said resident Sandy Laksh. " It' s not fair that our school is so overcrowded that my child sat on a bucket for class while they were renovating." And while critics contend the measure would discriminate against Latinos, Laksh offered a different view. I am a Puerto Rican woman and I love my nationality," she said. " But I think things should be fair." One township official on Thursday said the new ordinance " might not be highly enforceable." The township might have been better off to just hire another code enforcement officer," to crack down on quality- of-life problems blamed on illegal immigrants, said Gary Christopher, chairman of the planning and zoning board. At the same time, he said, the ordinance is a way to " put another level of pressure on property owners" and " to make it uncomfortable to be illegal here." Benjamin Johnson, director of the Immigration Policy Center in Washington, called Riverside' s effort a " diversion" that detracts from attacking the real problem, " a broken federal immigration system." Jamie Zuieback, a spokeswoman for the U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, noted convicting an employer of hiring an illegal immigrant requires proof he did so knowingly, which she described as a " very high standard." Riverside' s ordinance is patterned after one passed earlier this month by Hazleton, Pa. The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service has said such measures might be vulnerable in court, given the federal government's role in setting immigration policy. But Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta said Thursday his town' s ordinance should withstand a legal challenge because it targets landlords and business owners, not immigrants. We won' t be interfering with immigration law," he said. Reach Richard Pearsall at (856) 486-2465 or rnears~ urierpostonline. com Published: July 28. 2006 3: 10AM 20 60728/NEWSO 1 / 6072803... 8/ 2/ 2006 http:// www. courierpostonline. comlapps/ pbcs. dl1/article?AID=/  Print Version :. 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Home News Sports Business Opinion Entertainment Features Columnists Cor Subscribe Previous Issues Letters Obituaries Place An Ad Send Feec Print Page VVednesday, August2, 2006 last modified Saturday, July 8, 2006 10: 51 PM PDT Escondido councilwoman proposes banning rentals to illegal immigrants By: DAVID FRIED - Staff Writer ESCONDIDO ---- Taking her cue from similar efforts in other cities around the nation, Councilwoman Marie Waldron is proposing that A ' For Rent' sign hangs at a apartment buildings in central Escondido adopt a city ordinance Escondida on Friday. that would prohibit landlords from WALDO NIL 0 Staff Photographer renting to illegal immigrants. Order a copy of this photo Visit our Photo Gallery Waldron said last week that she wants the city to look into drafting a law that would fine landlords $ 1, 000 for renting or leasing property to undocumented immigrants, and possibly include arrest for extreme violators. I don' t want it ( the ordinance) to be a slap on the wrist," Waldron said. Waldron, who has regularly pushed for cracking down on illegal immigration, said that prohibiting undocumented immigrants from renting in the city was a response to federal border control efforts, which she believes have failed. It' s something every city needs to consider," Waldron said of her proposal, which would follow a Pennsylvania city' s tentative approval of a similar measure. " It' s just a matter of having the political will." A rental ordinance would place Escondido square in the middle of an ongoing national debate over illegal immigration, and potentially put the city and landlords in a costly position. City Manager Clay Phillips said he is not sure the city can legally restrict rental agreements. But even if it can, any resulting ordinance would require additional spending and employee time to enforce it for each of the 20, 500 rental units in the city. Certainly, we' re not geared up for that," Phillips said. " We don' t have the resources to try to monitor every single rental agreement in the city at this point." landlord and fair- housing advocates, meanwhile, said such an ordinance would unfairly burden property owners, and would never pass legal muster. State and federal fair housing laws prohibit landlords from refusing to rent to anyone based on several categories, including race, religion and national origin. Requiring a landlord to verify an applicant' s legal status would be in violation of those laws, said Robert http:// www.nctimes. com/articles/ 2006/ 07/ 09/ news/ inland/21_ 03 _117 _8_ 06. prt 8/ 2/ 2006  Print Version :. Page 2 of2 2, 800 Pinnegar, executive director of the San Diego County Apartment Association, a trade group representing property owners and managers throughout the county. i~ If you have a local ordinance that flies in the face of state and federal fair housing laws, that' s an issue," Pinnegar said. " Anything of this status that ties our hand would really concern us from the standpoint of not being able to do our job, or worse, putting us at risk (of lawsuits)." Public housing agencies regularly --- and legally -- demand proof of citizenship or legal residency from applicants for government- subsidized housing programs, according to officials with the Fair Housing Council of San Diego. Private landlords, however, would be in violation of the law if they did the same, especially if they required information about residency status only from those applicants they suspected of possibly not being citizens or legal residents, according to David Kline, an attorney with the council. If housing providers, based on this ordinance, were to check Social Security numbers or verify the immigration status of applicants from one country and not another, it wouldn' t be a very difficult argument to prove that is national origin discrimination," Kline said. " And that is the likely outcome of an ordinance like that." Some cities, however, are determined to test the waters, and Waldron said she has carefully watched their efforts. Last month, Hazleton, Pa., passed its own ordinance aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration in the town of 31, 000 residents. In addition to fining landlords who rent to undocumented immigrants, the law also would deny business licenses to companies that hire illegal immigrants and establishes English as the city' s official language. Hazleton' s council is scheduled to vote on the measure for its second, and final, reading, this week. Some residents in San Bernardino have proposed a similar voter initiative for their city. But their efforts were put on hold last month, after a Superior Court judge said supporters needed to gather more signatures in order to place the proposed law on the November ballot. Other cities have passed measures taking on different issues related to illegal immigration. Just down the road from Escondido, Vista' s City Council unanimously passed an ordinance last month requiring employers who hire day laborers to register with the city. Waldron said she sees the rental ordinance as the first piece of a patchwork of potential local immigration laws, that could include making English the official city language, among other elements. The councilwoman, who is up for re- election this fall, said she plans to bring the rental ordinance idea to the full council later this summer to gauge her colleagues' support. Previously, Waldron won votes from two other council members in her efforts to back a proposed ballot initiative that would have created a state border police to supplement federal immigration enforcement. The initiative failed to garner enough signatures to make it onto the June ballot. Councilman Sam Abed said he would be " very supportive" of a ban on renting to illegal immigrants, so long as it