Thread: Assembly candidate videotapes day laborers in Brewster

http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs ... 020/NEWS04

Assembly candidate videotapes day laborers in Brewster
By MARCELA ROJAS
AND MICHAEL RISINIT
(Original Publication: August 3, 2006)

BREWSTER — A state Assembly candidate is using a video camera to document contractors who, he says, are illegally hiring undocumented workers.

Greg Ball, who is running against Assemblyman Willis Stephens in next month's Republican primary, videotaped employers last week picking up day laborers on Brewster's Main Street. Dozens of men, mostly from Guatemala, stand downtown during the warmer months looking for work. Ball said he would do more filming Saturday.

"I want to create an environment in the village of Brewster where contractors know we consider illegal immigration to be illegal," Ball said yesterday.

The former Air Force officer said he planned to draw attention to those hiring the men by posting the footage and their license-plate numbers on his campaign Web site, www.ball4ny.com . He said the information also would be sent to federal and state tax authorities to see if employers were maintaining proper payroll records.

Hiring illegal immigrants, the candidate contends, leads to lost tax revenue, and their presence increases the cost of government-provided services. The filming, he said, will bring attention to a situation being ignored by the state and federal governments.

It follows a survey done by his campaign on illegal immigration, in which most of the respondents said illegal immigration negatively affected the community's quality of life.

Tom Bergin, a spokesman for the state Department of Taxation and Finance, said the agency would review any information it received about tax laws possibly being skirted before deciding whether to investigate further.

On Tuesday, about a dozen day laborers standing outside Maximum Deli cautiously talked about the filming. Some thought Ball was a television news reporter. Mynor Larios, who works in landscaping, said his "patron," or employer, pulled into the deli's parking lot Saturday morning, saw the film crew and quickly left. He has not returned, he said.

"It's sad because that day nobody worked. Somebody would drive in, and they (Ball and crew) would run up and film them and their license plates," said Larios, 24. "It's not just a problem for us, but for everybody that relies on work getting done."

Victor Padilla, Brewster's volunteer Hispanic liaison, confronted Ball and his assistants during their filmmaking.

"Let them make a living. He's just looking for votes and going the wrong way about it," Padilla said. "He's trying to intimidate people, and that's not right. We don't need the hatred here."

Donna Doria, a mortgage broker who lives in Southeast, applauded Ball's effort.

"It's a start, but I don't think it's going to solve the problem," Doria said.

Putnam County Legislator Tony Hay, R-Southeast, videotaped day laborers once a week for 12 months, starting in 1999. The tapes, he said yesterday, were for his own information. In the fall of 1999, according to then-Mayor John Cesar and other village officials, federal immigration authorities also videotaped day laborers.

Mike Bellantoni, an operations director with the Turf and Landscape Association of New York, said his organization opposes using illegal workers, but Ball ultimately won't have any impact on the situation. He said workers and contractors would find another spot away from Ball's lens. The federal government, Bellantoni said, needs to issue more than its annual limit of 66,000 visas for temporary, foreign workers.

Paolo Bertin of Bertin Construction in Mahopac, who said he has hired Brewster day laborers, echoed Bellantoni's assessment.

"It's his right to take video, but I don't think he's going to make a difference," Bertin said. "It's supply and demand. Contractors need workers, and the workers are there."

"Let them make a living. He's just looking for votes and going the wrong way about it," Padilla said. "He's trying to intimidate people, and that's not right. We don't need the hatred here."

Of course Victor your assessment is based on unlegitimate racis. (no surprise here)
So tell me Victor, how do you come to the conclusion that an ex air force officer (who took the oath) wanting to catch lawbreakers is doing this because of racism and/or hatred? IT DOESN'T!.

It's sad because that day nobody worked. Somebody would drive in, and they (Ball and crew) would run up and film them and their license plates," said Larios, 24. "It's not just a problem for us, but for everybody that relies on work getting done."

Well then how about hiring American workers? Oh I forgot, you'd have to pay them a better wage than you pay illegal immigrants and God forbid that happen to greedy business owners. HOW STUPID OF ME!!

Oh, it's such a crying shame they could'nt get some illegal work for the day!

Give me a break!

Your illegal!