ACLU tries to block release of day-labor employer data (asks judge to stop Vista, CA from release)

North County Times ^ | 7/6/07 | Craig Tenbroeck

[NormsRevenge]

VISTA ---- The American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial Counties will ask a judge to stop Vista from releasing the names, addresses and phone numbers of private individuals who have registered with the city as day-labor employers, an attorney with the group said Thursday.

The ACLU's legal director, David Blair-Loy, said he would file a class action complaint today in Superior Court on behalf of four anonymous employers to block the release of the information, which has been requested by a local anti-illegal immigration activist.

"This is just one of those cases where, I think, the right to privacy prevails over the right of public disclosure," Blair-Loy said.

The city was sent a copy of the complaint Thursday, Blair-Loy said.

City Attorney Darold Pieper said Thursday afternoon that the city will appear at a hearing about the matter ---- most likely to take place Monday. He declined to comment on what position the city will take.

Barring the court's intervention, however, Pieper said the city would have to release the list of employers by the end of business Monday.

This latest legal action was prompted by a public records request filed with the city on June 28 by Mike Spencer, the leader of an anti-illegal immigration group called the Vista Citizens Brigade.

Members of the brigade sometimes protest against the hiring of day laborers at a shopping center in central Vista where several men gather waiting for work. Spencer and his group have alleged that many of the mostly Latino workers are in the country illegally.

Spencer asked the city for the list of employers who have so far registered to hire day laborers, according to a preliminary copy of the ACLU's complaint. The list has 111 names on it, city officials have said.

Blair-Loy said he feared the personal information of registrants could be used as a tool for harassment by those who say that day-labor hiring promotes illegal immigration.

"Frankly, no matter who made this request, I'd be filing this case," Blair-Loy said. "But the fear of harassment just makes it more pressing."

Spencer said Thursday that posting the information on the Internet or using it to harass employers "was not my intent at all."

"I thought it would be interesting just to see if my request would set in motion any sort of action and see what the result would be," Spencer said.

The ACLU already has an extensive legal history with Vista's hiring law, which requires people who hire temporary workers off the street to register with the city, display permits in their car window and present workers with written terms of employment.

The ordinance also states that information submitted to the city by prospective employers will be available as public record.

Last year, the organization joined forces with California Rural Legal Assistance Inc. to sue the city in an attempt to stop the law from being enforced.

The parties reached a settlement in that case last month, which stipulated that the hiring law would remain in effect while Vista made some changes to the way it is enforced.

Among other things, the settlement stipulated that Vista would not immediately release the names and contact information of registered employers, but ---- if it received such a request ---- would wait 10 days to give the employer's attorney time to seek a court order.

Spencer said he was curious to see what actions the court and city would take.

"Does the city have a right to bargain away my rights to public information?" he asked.

[P-Marlowe]

The ACLU's legal director, David Blair-Loy, said he would file a class action complaint today in Superior Court on behalf of four anonymous employers...

Since when does "anonymous employer" have standing to sue? How can the public know that this is a legitimate employer if they refuse to identify themselves? Does this "anonymous" employer have a legitimate business license? Does this anonymous employer pay fees and taxes? Is this anonymous employer an illegal alien himself?

My guess is that these employers are either fictitious employers or illegitimate employers. The court should reject the suit until a legitimate employer steps forward to make the challenge.

[nhoward14]

Perhaps the IRS should sue the ACLU on the basis that the ACLU is trying to conceal evidence of tax fraud.

[Mark was here]

So the public does not have the right to public documents?

If one does not ones name on a public document, one should not put it there.

Reminds me of a saying. Fools names and fools faces always appear in public places.

Seriously however, if the public is not allowed access to the list, public funds should not be spent on maintaining it.

[ibbryn]

Just curious cuz I don’t really know.

Does the ACLU ever sue when newspapers sometimes cite the 1st Amendment and print the names of CCW holders?

[Little Bill]

Even as bad as the Peoples Republic of Mass is, I could spend a half an hour at City Hall, businesses are registered by City or Town, and find out all the day laborer orgs in the area.

[Buzzm1]

Here’s a website for the Citizen’s Brigades in that Area. The Encinitas Citizens Brigade has now joined with the Vista Citizens Brigade in this effort.

http://sandiegoborderalert.com/CITIZENS%20BRIGADES.htm

PS—I emailed Mike Spence for a status; I’ll let you know if I hear from him.

[Buzzm1]

If the American Civil Liberties Union is going to represent illegal immigrants, we should file suit against them and force them to take the word American out of their name.

[gubamyster]

ping

[puppypusher]

If these Day labororer employers are commiting a violation of the law.The law enforcement agency should get the proper warrents.

If the prosecuters can prove these employers are committing violations they will have No trouble getting them.

[highnoon]

My thoughts exactly. Also, what’s with the hyphen? Wonder what his ‘partner’ thinks about all this.

[HKMk23]

The ACLU would only respond by pointing out that everything south of the border IS in fact, part of either North America, Central America, or South America, and that, as such, people from those locales are, undeniably
“American”, and then go on to deride our jingoistic misappropriation of that term for use as our own national identifier, thus, in an overtly xenophobic fashion, excluding all of the other people groups who live on the American continents.

Of course, the good conservative will retort “What about those malcontents in the Middle East calling themselves ‘Palestinian’?”

If we’re not “Americans”, the they’re certainly not “Palestinians”. They represent every bit as much, and far more, a case of a people purposefully excluding the geographic identity of their neighbors by adopting as their identifier the name of a broad geographic region already populated by other nation states. We forged a Nation, and came to call it “America”, and ourselves “Americans”, while they have appropriated the name “Palestinian” in a complete vacuum of any actual national identity, and now insist on being given a chunk of the geography of Palestine for their nation. Them calling themselves “Palestinian” discounts the statehood of every other nation in Palestine — particularly Israel — in the face of them having named themselves after the region, which, thus, implies they have a right to all of the land in Palestine, and, by extension, a justification for killing people and breaking things until those states currently established in that region — particularly Israel — get up and leave so they can have that land back; even though it was never theirs to begin with. In the greatest attempt at forcing a foregone conclusion in the history of modern man, they impose the notion that, since they’re “Palestinians” all of Palestine must belong to them. By name-derived right. This move to create a self-fulfilling prophecy out of nothing more than a name is, at root, the sole reason they’ve come to be called “Palestinians”.

If they, then, can, upon such a filmy and tenuous basis, establish their identity as “Palestinian”, we have exponentially greater bases for our claim to the identifier “American”, and we will not begin to consider relinquishing our valid claim to our identifier as long as they retain their invalid claim to theirs.

The ACLU representative, their position utterly annihilated, will, at this point, evade your entire argument and attack you on a different front.

[Sir_Ed]

Yet I’m sure they support newspapers giving out the names and addresses of people who hold concealed weapon’s licenses, as some are wont to do...

Ed

[org.whodat]

Seriously however, if the public is not allowed access to the list, public funds should not be spent on maintaining it.

Any judge, no on the ACLU payroll would agree with you.

[vamoose]

The ACLU is filing a lawsuit based on, “the fear of harassment”. Harassment by who? They ACLU doesn’t say. I can understand why businesses would not want this public information made public, but embarrassment is not harassment.

[Wolverine]

[2ndDivisionVet]

Demand a border fence! Build it NOW!! Beef up the border patrol and close our borders!

U.S. Senate switchboard: (202) 224-3121

U.S. House switchboard: (202) 225-3121

White House comments: (202) 456-1111

Find your House Rep.: http://www.house.gov/writerep

Find your US Senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Toll free to the US Senate:

1-800-882-2005. (Spanish number)
1-800-417-7666. (English number)

Courtesy of a pro-amnesty group, no less!!

[Travis McGee]

The ACLU is so disgusting. Makes me think of walls and blindfolds.

[Lurker]

Makes me think of walls and blindfolds.

Tar and feathers at the very least.

L

[Travis McGee]

That’s a start. Hot tar, naked. And don’t forget the feathers.