Pablo Alvarado, director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network(Daily Pilot)

The council established the ban in 2005, ruling  that no laborers were allowed to attract prospective employers by waving their hands, holding up signs, calling out to drivers, or any other means. Day laborers caught soliciting themselves faced six months of imprisonment and a $1,000 fine. The law also condemned drivers who employed the day laborers, regarding their actions equally unlawful.

However, the city council has recently discovered that such a ban proved unnecessary. The law has not been enforced since 2010 as laborer solicitation has not been much of an issue for the past few years.

The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals also deemed such ordinances to be violations of basic civil rights in 2011, prompting the City Council to remove the anti-solicitation ban permanently.

The ban has been met with widespread disapproval and protest, inciting public outcries from various organizations. The National Day Laborer Organizing Network has led many rallies, vying for immigrant workers' rights to seek job opportunities and provide for their families without undue obstruction from the law. 

The ban's repeal constitutes a political victory for the organization. Advocates for workers' rights consider the removal of the ban a definitive step towards the promotion of equal rights and constitutional freedoms.

"Day laborers deserve our thanks for advancing constitutional rights for all Americans," said Jessica Kharp, staff attorney of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network.

"Anyone who's ever felt the uncertainty of unemployment should rest assured that the right to publicly express your availability to work and provide for your family is once against protected in Costa Mesa."

Read more at the LA Times.

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