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Early Victory for Day Laborers in Battle Against Anti-Solicitation Ordinance in Oyster Bay

Posted May 28, 2010 by Samantha Fredrickson, Esq.

It’s been a little more than a week since the NYCLU, ACLU and LatinoJustice PRLDEF filed a lawsuit challenging Oyster Bay’s anti-immigrant ordinance that prohibits soliciting work on public sidewalks, and the effort is already paying off. 

Day laborers in Oyster Bay are going back to work. 

Less than three days after we filed the federal lawsuit on behalf of Centro de la Comunidad de Hispana de Locust Valley and the Workplace Project, U.S. District Judge Denis R. Hurley granted a temporary restraining order immediately barring enforcement of the law and recognizing that it violates the First Amendment right to free speech. 

A few days later, the town agreed to extend the injunction barring enforcement of the ordinance while they consider an appeal of Hurley’s order. This means that day laborers in Oyster Bay are free to exercise their rights and solicit work without fear of being penalized under this unconstitutional law. 

Announcing his decision from the bench, Judge Hurley said: “It seems to me that there is a clear violation of the First Amendment. That in and of itself establishes irreparable harm for present purposes.”

Under Oyster Bay’s ordinance, day laborers are subject to a $250 fine if caught soliciting employment from streets, sidewalks and other public places. Contractors who stop to hire workers are also subject to the fine. For the past several months, public safety officers have been stationed near Forest Avenue in Locust Valley, a popular spot for day laborers to seek jobs. With the injunction in place, those public safety officers cannot ticket workers or contractors. 

We’re confident that the courts will continue to rule against this unconstitutional ordinance as our litigation progresses. Judges have struck down similar ordinances across the country. Unfortunately, municipalities and states nationwide continue to enact unconstitutional and discriminatory laws targeting immigrants. 

Congress must enact comprehensive immigration reform that protects the rights of everyone so that towns like Oyster Bay and states like Arizona do not take the matter into their own hands. That’s why, in addition to filing this lawsuit, the NYCLU is committed to lobbying and advocating for just and humane comprehensive reform.

For more information about how you can get involved in this fight, e-mail us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). We’ll also be talking about these very issues at our Annual June Meeting, “Rights for All: Stories of Hope, Struggle and Change in the Immigrants’ Rights Movement,” which will be at 7:30pm on June 16 at Hofstra Law School, Koppelman Hall Room 308. It’s open to the public and we hope to see you there!


Samantha Fredrickson is the director of the Nassau County chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

Tags : nassau, nyclu, oyster bay, standing while latino, venditto

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