INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — After driving in and out of John’s Island to clean homes through most of February, Charles Sereika said he was surprised to learn of a new policy the wealthy gated community had recently put in place.

According to a statement from the John’s Island Property Association, all contractors and subcontractors who show up to work on homes in the beachside community must have a valid driver’s license or identification. The policy became effective Feb. 1.

“If you have an employee that is an illegal alien, do not send them,” the letter said. “If you have an employee that is unable to obtain a U.S. driver’s license or I.D. card, please do not send them to work on John’s Island, as they will be turned away.”

Sereika, owner of Clean House Services of Vero Beach, has five clients on John’s Island and has been doing business there for several years. Sereika is white and said he’d driven through John’s Island almost 10 times in February without being checked for identification. That was before last week when he drove in accompanied by an employee who is an American citizen of Puerto Rican descent, he said. The guard had Sereika stop and asked both of them for identification.

“It’s not a bad policy, but I don’t think it will be enforced properly,” Sereika said. “They’re profiling.”

Officials at the property association had few comments about the new policy.

“We’re ensuring the security of our residents,” said Peter Young, general manager at John’s Island. “This is a security matter.”

Officials at John’s Island didn’t say if a previous incident prompted the policy. Officials at Indian River Shores Public Safety Department could not recall any major crimes there in several months.

Sereika said the identification check at John’s Island is the only one he’s come across in the various gated communities where he does business.

Officials at the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a Washington D.C.-based advocacy group, said private communities have the right to ask for identification, though it’s rare to find many making this effort.

“They’re protecting the interest of their residents,” said Ira Melhman, spokesman for the group.
By Lamaur Stancil

Tags: driver, driving, federal, housing, profiling, property, safety, security

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 4th, 2009 at 9:53 am and is filed under Crime, Indian River County. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.