Judge places SoCal migrant camp under temporary receiver

AP via SFGate ^ | 2/11/8 | GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer

[SmithL]

Riverside, Calif. (AP) -- Citing rampant health and safety violations, a federal judge on Monday appointed two special masters and a temporary receiver to help manage a Coachella Valley trailer park on Indian land that is home to up to 6,000 migrant workers.

U.S. District Judge Stephen G. Larson appointed as special masters Pierre-Richard Prosper, a former U.S. ambassador in the Clinton administration and an expert on war crimes, and Jack Shine, president and chief executive of First Financial Group.

Attorney Mark S. Adams was named temporary receiver, with the power to order emergency repairs at the park and control the financial books. The park owners will still manage day-to-day operations, including collecting rent from residents, pay expenses and pay salaries, Larson said.

The three overseers will have 60 days to study solutions at the park and prepare a recommendation to the court. They will have unlimited access to the park property during that time, the judge said.

"We have a dangerous situation in hand and there's really no one that the court has confidence in at this point to monitor that situation," said Larson, who toured the park in December. "The court wants to make sure that there is somebody in place to oversee what is out there."

The U.S. attorney's office and the Bureau of Indian Affairs have been trying to shut down the Desert Mobile Home Park for several years. The government most recently asked Larson to shut it down after the Bureau of Indian Affairs identified inadequate drinking water, a jerry-rigged electrical system, severe overcrowding and fire hazards. The park is located on Torres Martinez Indian land in the fertile Coachella Valley, about 130 miles southeast of Los Angeles, and is exempt from state and local safety codes because of its sovereign status.

[SmithL]

Larson, Stephen G.

Born 1964 in Fontana, CA

Federal Judicial Service:
Judge, U. S. District Court, Central District of California
Nominated by George W. Bush on December 15, 2005, to a seat vacated by Robert J. Timlin; Confirmed by the Senate on March 16, 2006, and received commission on March 20, 2006.

U.S. Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, 2000-2006

Education:
Georgetown University, B.S., 1986

University of Southern California Law School, J.D., 1989

Professional Career:
Private practice, California, 1989-1991
Assistant U.S. attorney, Central District of California, 1991-2000
Adjunct assistant professor, Glendale College of Law, 1997-2001
Instructor, California Southern Law School, 2001-2005
Adjunct professor, University of LaVerne College of Law, 2002-present

Race or Ethnicity: White

Gender: Male

[AngelesCrestHighway]

Easy fix:
1) Three buldozers
2) 60 buses
3) Yahoo map directions to border

[afnamvet]

The U.S. attorney's office and the Bureau of Indian Affairs have been trying to shut down the Desert Mobile Home Park for several years.

In the immortal words of Yoda; do or do not , there is no try. What a blatant disregard for Federal immigration law. Our government again exhibiting inaction.

[upchuck]

I bet pictures of this place would make you lose your appetite for a week.

[calcowgirl]

The Southland's hidden Third World slums

(snip)

Some of the largest and poorest parks are on the Torres Martinez Indian Reservation where they are not subject to local zoning laws and the county can't monitor safety, hygiene and building standards. The reservation is also home to the worst illegal dumps of any tribe in California, Arizona or Nevada, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The federal agency has closed 10 of the 20 most toxic dumps and cited four of the largest trailer parks for health violations.

Despite the conditions, park owners say they are providing a vital service in an area where housing prices have soared.

"Before the parks, they were living in their cars, in the desert and bathing in the canals. Five guys would pay 50 bucks a month to share a camper shell," said Scott Lawson, a tribal member and co-owner of the Oasis park on the reservation. "Nobody cared when they lived like that, only when they moved into trailers. You can't expect the poorest to live like the wealthiest. They feel comfortable here; it's like being back in Mexico. They tell me that."

Lawson's 300-trailer park has been cited by the EPA for clean-water violations and was recently ordered to stop pumping raw sewage into the nearby Salton Sea.

[upchuck]

That’s about what I figured.

What a shame.

What a waste.

[BurbankKarl]

Just driving through Thermal or Mecca will do that.

[BurbankKarl]

U.S. Federal Judge Stephen G. Larson (center in trenchcoat) tours the Desert Mobile Home Park, known as "Duroville," on the Torres Martinez reservation on Dec. 20. Said Larson on Monday: "I'm not expecting a miracle here, but I am expecting a plan to bring it into compliance with California code

Note: Who are the guys with the rifles? BIA? FBI? Who has that type of jurisdiction on the Rez?

[AuntB]

” Said Larson on Monday: “I’m not expecting a miracle here, but I am expecting a plan to bring it into compliance with California code”

Stunning. Arm guards needed to walk the bureaucrats through the dump. The thought never occurs to these idiots to enforce the LAW against illegal entry?????

It’s pure insanity! I wasn’t allowed to live on my own 2 acres that had city sewer ( cost me $30,000!) because of ‘restrictions. I should have told them I was in the country illegally, I bet I’d still be there.