Yea baby.
It aint alot. but its a start.
Oh and thats $1,000 per occurance
1 illegal +$1,000
2 illegals =$2,000
And so on and so forth
Now if only all the other townships in the country had the gonads to do this
By BONNIE PFISTER
Of The Associated Press
TRENTON -- The southern New Jersey community of Riverside has banned the hiring and housing of undocumented immigrants.
The Township Council unanimously approved the "Illegal Immigration Relief Act,’’ making renting or leasing property to a person who cannot prove he or she is legally in the United States a violation punishable by fines starting at $1,000. Employing such individuals would incur a similar penalty, and could cost employers their local business license.
The five-member council affirmed the proposal Wednesday before a noisy crowd of several hundred people, whose numbers forced the group to relocate from town hall to a high school auditorium.
The ordinance mirrors one passed earlier this month in Hazleton, Pa. Local governments across the country -- from California to Idaho to Florida -- are considering similar actions. This is believed to be the first such ordinance passed in the Garden State.
A town of 8,000 located in Burlington County, about halfway between Camden and Trenton, Riverside Township is unofficially home to between 1,500 and 3,500 illegal immigrants, mostly from Brazil, according to Mayor Charles Hilton.
Municipal leaders say the influx has crowded schools and housing, strained public services and made parking spaces scarce.
Newspaper reports of the meeting describe a jeering, flag-waving crowd that shouted down a Latino minister who raised concerns about racial profiling. A recess was called and several people were escorted out by eight police officers -- half the town’s force.
It was not clear how soon the ordinance would take effect, who would enforce it, or the cost of training township employees in verifying federal immigration documents. Riverside Township’s solicitor told The Philadelphia Inquirer for Thursday’s editions that an amendment to clarify the language would be forthcoming. Neither Hilton nor top township officials returned several phone messages left Thursday.
Angela Mateo-Gonzalez, director of Servicios Latinos de Burlington County, said many longtime Riverside residents are legitimately frustrated about such public safety issues as overcrowded apartments catering to low-wage residents.
But such concerns should be addressed by enforcing existing codes applying to all building owners, she said. She called the mood at the council meeting disturbing.
"I think it’s going to increase racial tension,’’ Mateo-Gonzalez said. "A veteran told me he was at the grocery store and he got racial comments. He fought in two wars for this country. You don’t want to go back to a time where if you have different color skin, people will look at you differently.’’
Martin Perez, president of the Latino Leadership Alliance, said Riverside’s new law would be discussed at a board meeting this weekend, and a lawsuit to oppose it could be forthcoming.
He said his group met with leaders in Freehold last year to urge them away from ordinances over crowded housing that he said were discriminatory.
"It’s a housing code problem, not an immigration problem,’’ Perez said. "Often they realize the problem is more complicated than they thought at first.’’
©The Trentonian 2006
