VISTA -- One of three plaintiffs in a high-profile lawsuit against the city of Vista said Monday that she plans to remove her name from the case, which seeks to quash the city's controversial ordinance regulating the hiring of day laborers

The woman, Virginia Calderon, is identified in the civil complaint as a Vista resident who has hired day laborers. She is also an attorney with San Diego-based law firm Rosner & Mansfield and the president of San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association.

Calderon said that she had hired day laborers in Vista a couple of times and that she approached the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial Counties about joining the lawsuit after "word was sent out that they were looking for a plaintiff."

She said Monday that she decided to withdraw her name from the suit because she moved to Mira Mesa about two months ago and isn't likely to hire laborers here in the future.

Calderon was also one of several attorneys to sign a recent letter asking the Escondido City Council to repeal or postpone enforcement of that city's controversial ordinance to ban landlords from renting to illegal immigrants.

The Vista suit was filed July 17 by the ACLU and the California Rural Legal Assistance Inc. on behalf of two day laborers and one employer (Calderon).

The controversial law took effect 11 days later, on July 28, and requires anyone who hires day laborers off the street to register with the city, display a certificate in their car windows and present workers with written terms of employment.

The lawsuit included a request by Calderon for a temporary restraining order to immediately stop the city from enforcing the law, but that request was denied by a U.S. District Court judge in early August.

David Blair-Loy, legal director for the ACLU, said Monday that the removal of Calderon's name from the broader lawsuit was "really of no significance" and had nothing to do with the merits of the case. He added that the change would have no impact on the claims made by the two day laborers.

The ACLU's complaint alleges in part that adoption of the ordinance was motivated by unlawful discrimination against day laborers such as the two plaintiffs, Asuncion Hernandez and Raymundo Serrano.

Blair-Loy said it is not yet clear whether another employer would take Calderon's place.

Vista City Attorney Darold Pieper said Monday afternoon that "the city is not aware of Ms. Calderon's proposed withdrawal, nor is it aware of what the plaintiffs intend to do to replace her, if anything. We will simply await further developments."

Since the hiring law took effect, the city has issued 61 registration certificates to employers, according to Patrick Johnson, assistant to the city manager.

- Contact staff writer Craig TenBroeck at (760) 631-6621 or ctenbroeck@nctimes.com.