Civil rights group warns Carmel over day labor crackdown
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- April
- 29
The civil rights group that sued Mamaroneck over the harassment of day laborers is turning its attention to Carmel.
The town supervisor there, along with Assemblyman Greg Ball, announced plans to arrest laborers who congregate in front of Mahopac-area businesses on charges of trespassing. Merchants would sign a document authorizing police to make arrests on the sidewalks outside their stores, according to the officials.
A “trespass affidavit program” has been used in New York City apartment buildings, but no community has used it to bar people from public sidewalks, the organization LatinoJustice PRLDEF wrote in a letter to Carmel Supervisor Kenneth Schmitt and Putnam County Sheriff Donald Smith.
“We assume that is because such a program would be flagrantly unconstitutional,” president and general counsel Cesar Perales wrote. He continued:
While the rights of persons on public sidewalks are not absolute, they can be restricted only if they violate some law or regulation preserving public order. Persons may not be prevented from congregating on a public sidewalk unless they substantially obstruct pedestrian traffic.
Schmitt could not be reached this afternoon.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, April 29th, 2009 at 3:08 pm by Leah Rae.
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I thought aiding criminals was against the law?
ISN’T IT ALSO UNCONSTITUTIONAL “NOT” TO THROW THESE ILLEGAL BUMS OUT OF OUR COUNTRY ?
Round ‘em up and ship ‘em out. We don’t feel like supporting them or smelling their urine in the streets. Get rid of them asap.
Lets arrest all the restaurant owners that dont declare all their taxes and LIE on their returns. They are CRIMINALS, cheating all of us. These criminals are dragging us all down and then they have the redneck audacity to complain about others. Freaking “rednecks!” dragging down our economy!
when I was a teen and hung out in front of the local stores we were told we were loitering which was illegal and had to leave or we would be arrested.When was this law changed???Have you been to the town of brewster lately,I would never park and shop anywhere along main street between the hours of 6 and 11 am
Isn’t it lovely that the so called rights of people here illegally will supersede those of a citizen?
If Mr. perales contends that this program would violate First Amendment rights, he needs to understand the distiction between between commercial speech, which is entitled to lesser protection under the First Amendment, and political or expressive speech, which enjoys greater protection under the First Amendment.
Not unlike hot dog vendors or t-shirt sellers commonly seen on the streets of busy cities across America, day laborers ‘propose a commercial transaction’ to prospective employers by standing in certain locations, like streets or sidewalks…no political message is conveyed. The only message is ‘hire me,’.
He is also wrong to suggest there are no laws preventing undocumented workers from seeking employment. It is unlawful for illegal aliens to work in the United States and for anyone to aid and abet the violation of federal immigration laws. According to a recent University of Illinois survey, at least seventy-five percent (75%) of day laborers in the United States are illegal aliens.
Most Americans would reject the notion that illegal aliens begging for jobs in the streets should be protected under the First Amendment. Carmel ought to be able to enforce its anti-solicitation law and to protect its citizens.
Ed Kowalski
9/11 Families For A Secure America
How are persons who are in this country illegally allowed the same civil rights as legal citizens?? This makes no sense! Illegal day laborers should NOT be allowed to look for work this way, and they should not be given any easier/safer way to look for work (day laborer “shelters”). If any of them are legal, they should be looking for work the way the rest of us do!
This is what we get for coddling and appeasing these criminal swine. Now we are threatened with a law suit by a “civil rights group” so that illegals have more rights than we do. We need to form our own “civil rights groups” to combat these invaders who were given a foothold in our country by the warm and fuzzy liberal leftists who, for some reason, want to destroy the country that protects them. I can’t wait to see all the swine flu marching on Cinco de Mayo. They will also get a pass from Dimbulb Janet who thinks her Homeland Security Position is to protect the illegals and big biz interests not the American People. It is time for us to rise up against the invaders and those who seek to destroy American by helping them and rid ourselves of them for good.
This action by the Town of Carmel reflects the wishes of taxpayers, voters, and those who elected town officials to express their views. It’s called Democracy as a result of citizenship!!!!! The action by a so called “civil rights” group is based on the advocacy for those who are here illegally, don’t pay taxes and as a result of such don’t have any “civil rights” beyond those that they have when residing in their countries of origin. By definition, the lack of civil rights connotes a breach of constitutional law upon U.S. CITIZENS. The RJN header is wrong, misguided, and utimately false! Look into, and cut the funding for this “civil rights group” who probably is working under a federal grant!!!!!
I would leave a reply, but I think that those that “spoke” before me said it all. When is the government going to listen to the majority (instead of the rabblerousers) as the Constitution says it should?
Let this ‘civil rights’ group spend their time and money convincing these illegals to GO BACK WHENCE THEY CAME. Let them leech off their home countries for once. I am sick of this. What give these bums the ‘right’ to hang out in front of businesses, obstructing sidewalks, leering at women, and generally being a nuisance? Last time I checked, they’re ILLEGAL, and they don’t have any rights.
They do substantially impede pedestrian traffic.
It seems to me that this law would leave teens subject to arrest of they skateboard in front of a business that didn’t want thm there. Or will it only be used to arrest Latino day laborers?
john
Your blog is very interresting for me, i will come back here..