NY county defeats day laborer plan
FRANK ELTMAN
AP
Mar 21, 2007
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - Lawmakers in an eastern Long Island county where illegal immigration has been an issue for nearly a decade defeated a bill Tuesday that would have banned people seeking day work from congregating on public roads.
Suffolk County legislators turned the measure down 10-6, with one legislator absent and another abstaining. State laws already outlaw obstructing traffic and standing on roadways to solicit rides, legislators noted.
"We believe that with stronger enforcement of the provisions of these existing laws, the problems outlined in, and provisions of (the proposal) can be adequately addressed by the officers of the Suffolk County Police Department," they wrote.
The sponsor, Suffolk County Legislator Jack Eddington, said his aim was improving public safety and preventing accidents, but he conceded he also wanted the day laborers — largely suspected of being in the country illegally — to go elsewhere.
"This is not a black and white or Hispanic issue," he said of critics accusing him of racism. "These young men are being exploited. They have no safety precautions."
Opponents argue the proposal is an attempt to criminalize "standing while Latino."
Christina Iturralde, an attorney with the New York-based Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, which advocates for the civil rights of Hispanics, had predicted that the measure, if passed, would not withstand legal challenges if it were passed.
"The right of people to seek work in public spaces is a crucial part of our civil society," she said.
Suffolk County has been drawing day laborers from Mexico and Central America over the past decade. County Executive Steve Levy estimated that 40,000 of the county's 1.5 million residents are illegal immigrants
