September 2008

During the past few weeks, PRLDEF has taken on a number of different cases and projects that will promote justice for Latinos across the United States.

In New Jersey, our attorneys were recently retained by a community organization that is worried about a lawsuit that could threaten the rights of Latinos to buy or rent homes.

In Rhode Island, PRLDEF has been in touch with members of the Latino community who are upset about an Executive Order that threatens the civil rights of Latinos. PRLDEF sent a letter to RI Governor Donald Carcieri, warning him that the "Illegal Immigrant Control Order" is constitutionally flawed and could invite lawsuits.

Read on for more information on these highlights from our recent work.

In This Issue

• PRLDEF Will Help Fight Anti-Immigrant Lawsuit in NJ
• PRLDEF Tells Rhode Island Governor That Executive Order Is Constitutionally Flawed

NJ Community Group Retains PRLDEF Attorneys

PRLDEF Will Help Fight Anti-Immigrant Lawsuit

A group in Plainfield, NJ recently retained PRLDEF attorneys in order to help protect the rights of Latinos in the community.

Plainfield's Latin American Coalition contacted PRLDEF for help after learning that Connolly Properties, a Plainfield rental company, was being sued by a former Connolly employee and two tenants. The employee and tenants, who are United States citizens, accuse the company of allowing undocumented tenants to live in its buildings and allege that this practice amounts to unlawful harboring and should be considered a criminal enterprise.

The employee and the tenants are represented by the Washington, DC-based Immigration Reform Law Institute, the legal arm of the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

The institute previously supported anti-immigrant ordinances in Hazelton, PA and Riverside, NJ. (PRLDEF stopped the city of Hazleton from implementing its ordinance.

The city is appealing a federal ruling. Riverside rescinded its ordinance after PRLDEF filed a lawsuit.) "Latino immigrants in this country have the same legal rights as any other American to buy and rent property," said Cesar Perales, PRLDEF's President and General Counsel.

"Landlords have no right to inquire into the immigration status of tenants."

There are great tensions in Plainfield over its growing immigrant population. And there have recently been a series of beatings and robberies targeting Latinos.

"We intend to defend our rights," said Latin American Coalition Leader Flor Gonzalez.

"These anti-immigrant groups are targeting Latinos in their efforts to spread their unfriendliness. If they succeed in Plainfield they will do this to Latinos in other places."

PRLDEF Warns RI Governor that Executive Order Could Invite Lawsuits

"Illegal Immigrant Control Order" is constitutionally flawed

Last month PRLDEF sent a letter to Rhode Island Gov. Donald L. Carcieri warning him that the state's "Illegal Immigrant Control Order" could cause costly legal problems for the state.

The order requires the state's executive branch to use the troubled "E-Verify" database to check the immigration status of employees, and authorizes law enforcement officials to scrutinize the immigration status of residents of the state. The U.S. Constitution authorizes and assigns the power to regulate immigration exclusively to the federal government, not states, PRLDEF explained.

This makes the Order constitutionally flawed and subject to legal challenge based on federal preemption. It also makes the Order patently discriminatory. One of every eight residents in Rhode Island is foreign-born and though many are not citizens, the vast majority are in the country legally.

The potential for racial profiling is obvious in light of an established and growing Latino community.

Many Rhode Island residents, along with community and religious leaders, have publically expressed their concerns about the divisive Order. Seven members of the Governor's Commission on Hispanic Affairs have resigned in protest of the Order, saying it created a climate of "fear and anxiety."

In the letter to Carcieri, PRLDEF pointed out that a recent GAO report concluded that E-Verify is susceptible to employer fraud and misuse and raises serious privacy concerns. Many databases used by E-Verify are considered to be unreliable and produce a significant number of false positives.

"To impose this program on all who do business with the state is to court legal problems and will inevitably cause harm to many state residents, employees and businesses alike," PRLDEF President and General Counsel Cesar Perales wrote.