VISTA, Calif. -- Activists protested the hiring of day laborers in Vista on Saturday morning.

The Vista Citizens Brigade demonstrated outside of a shopping center parking lot on Escondido and Santa Fe avenues.

Members of the group said they witnessed several hirings last month that did not comply with Vista's day-laborer registration ordinance. They called on the city to enforce the ordinance and stop people from hiring people who are in the country illegally.

Counter-demonstrators said members of the Vista Citizens Brigade harass and taunt day laborers. One human-rights activist said it has "gotten out of control." She said city officials should protect the workers.

Counter-demonstrators also said not all of the laborers are in the country illegally.

Vista's ordinance requires people who hire day laborers from public sites to register with the city, display certificates in their car windows and present workers with written terms of employment. The regulation went into effect in 2006.