Congressman Gary Miller reports his office has received “numerous calls and letters from concerned citizens” about day laborers congregating at commercial centers in Mission Viejo. He conferred on the problem in a conference call this week with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, Border Patrol and City of Mission Viejo.
City Councilman John Paul Ledesma recently asked the Council to adopt measures to resolve the problem at Jeronimo and Los Alisos. After the Council majority displayed indifference, Ledesma arranged for a meeting among affected business owners, the City Attorney and the Chief of Police. Although the parties described the meeting as civil and constructive, the Staff and Council have failed to institute new policies.
Jeronimo Plaza and Silverado Plaza have resorted to hiring professional uniformed security. But one business owner says city officials fail to act on her complaints of trespassing, even when witnessed by security personnel. At the time of the last Council discussion, Police had issued only two citations under a beefed-up trespassing ordinance adopted last year. Neither citation was prosecuted by county prosecutors, and the City did not authorize the City Attorney to enforce the matters.
Merchants describe the problem as serious and costly. Silverado Plaza chopped bushes to prevent day laborers from urinating and drinking on the premises. Laborers remove trash bins from enclosures for restroom purposes and other activities. They operate in an organized manner with a leader overseeing wages and designating standing areas. They sometimes solicit and swarm vehicles entering the plazas.
Visits to the centers confirm the problem persists. Neither the council nor police appear ready to take stronger action, leaving primary responsibility on the businesses. Meanwhile some shoppers are deterred and merchants remain frustrated.
Congressman Miller says he will soon address the issue at a City Council meeting. He also intends to work with police to prevent the hiring of illegal immigrants.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
On Friday April 18, 2008 I drove into the mentioned plaza. My car was immediately approached by four of the Day Laborers–two on a dead run. Until I raised my hand in the “universal stop sign” they just kept coming.
By my count in that center alone there were 19 Day Laborers.
There were zero signs of our local Orange County Sheriff (most likely busy ticketing soccer moms) and of course none of our bamboozled council members, or our loquacious city attorney.
Here is hoping that Congressman Miller is doing more than “public posturing” on this issue that threatens every business in that plaza.
Don’t blame the deputies for not writing tickets. Let me tell you how it works. Except for vehicle code infractions, when a deputy writes a ticket for a Municipal Code violation (e.g., day laborer trespassing) it goes into a stack of citations that the City Attorney’s office should pick up. The CA’s office then files the complaints in court in Laguna Niguel. The County does NOT, repeat NOT prosecute Muni Code violations. When deputies write tickets and never get called into court to prosecute them, they figure out pretty quickly that it is one big fat waste of time and they don’t bother. Be aware that is not the act of writing a citation that enforces the law, but the prosecuting of it by the City Attorney. How disappointing that the CA’s office won’t prosecute these tickets. THat is a part of their responsibilities. Did the CC really “refuse” to authorize these prosecutions? Unbelievable!
What I don’t understand is the following: These guys are undocumented workers, yes? They should be picked up and deported!
My mother came to this country from Cuba in the 60′s (legally). She learned the language within 6 months and would only speak English to us. She raised us as Americans.
I was in traffic court yesterday. There were over 30 illegal men, who not only needed interpreters to speak to the judge, but they all were there for NO License, No Registration, No insurance. They all paid their fees; no lecture – nothing that every English speaker was lectured about.
All those tickets are big revenue for the state and the county!
It made me sick and saddened to live in this state.
Truly, hypocrisy is endemic to the human condition. Complaining about people looking for honest work, often standing about for hours so that they can earn enough “bread” to live on, is a clear demonstration of myopic prejudice. Most Californians know that if all Mexicans, legal or illegal, suddenly disappeared the state’s economy would tailspin: led by agribusiness unable to hire cheap farm labor; the service industry (restaurants, maids, housekeepers, maintenance aides, gardening/landscapers,etc.) then forced to seek other citizens, most of whom would probably eschew such low-paying menial tasks.
Of course, commercial businesses will suffer if the unemployed are hanging about or soliciting jobs from motorists or pedestrians. Why doesn’t the City Council offer constructive alternatives, instead of issuing tickets and fines which are never paid? Would that the Council would put as much thought into the problem as the time and money wasted in promoting a needless float for the Rose Parade.