Thread: The deportation of illegal workers is dividing Long Island

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/20/usa

super-rich
The deportation of illegal workers is dividing Long Island, one of America's wealthiest regions.

Long Island, where rich residents are facing a labour shortage after a spate of deportations. Photograph: Kate Maxwell

It is high season in the Hamptons, the holiday home for America's superstars and merely super-rich. But behind the perfectly tended lawns and clipped hedgerows at the far end of Long Island all is not well.

Tiger Woods recently paid $65 million (£32m) for a beachfront home here. Christie Brinkley, whose recent divorce has been the talk of Long Island, is a regular visitor. But as a result of a locally enforced purge of the undocumented immigrants who provide much of the menial workforce, barmen are disappearing from beach bars, waiters from the lobster-and-champagne benefit parties and cleaners from the holiday mansions. Long Island is divided as never before between the haves and the have-nots.

'The Latino community are living in uncertainty and fear,' said Sister Margaret Smyth, the head of a church group in Riverhead, one of the poorest areas of Long Island. 'As a result of the crackdown, we've created a new underclass of women and children. Their men have been deported but they want to stay because they want their children educated. Before, people were poor; now they are extremely poor.'

Up to now summering bankers and celebrities have been more concerned with the social dramas of the season, such as the Brinkley divorce and an entertaining scuffle at an art opening in East Hampton, when white wine was served in contravention of a new teetotal town ordinance. But tensions as a result of the crackdown on cheap labour have spilled embarrassingly into view.

Hotels, restaurants and gardening contractors are predicting an imminent shortage of able workers. And every day in the car park of the 7-11 convenience shop on the main road in Southampton, a daily drama of the poor is played out in one of the most prosperous regions of America. More than a hundred Mexican, Honduran and Guatemalan day labourers gather hoping to be picked up for work. Now opposing them are a group of protesters - Long Island's 'minutemen' - clutching 'No Amnesty' placards, shouting insults and clearly identifying who should be the next deportees.

'The protesters have a lot of support,' said Brian Smith, leaning outside his store, PH Pool. Reports that cross-border immigration may be slowing was not evident in the Hamptons, he said. 'If anything there are more immigrants coming than ever before; and I don't see why they should come here and have their healthcare and babies for free.'

The Latino labourers, who are estimated to make up 20 per cent of the Long Island workforce, believe the protesters are being paid to confront them, although they have no proof.

Police hover nearby, ready to swoop at the first sign of a disturbance that will give them the opportunity to ask for identification. If the requisite documents are not forthcoming, deportation proceedings may follow. 'There used to be work but now there are always problems,' said one worker, before being hustled away by two police deputies. 'We work hard. We don't cause problems. This is a country of immigrants ... so why do they want to turn against us?'

Luis Valenzuela, director of the Long Island Immigrant Alliance, said: 'The immigration raids have been quite devastating to a vulnerable community. Now they are introducing measures that will force people deeper in the shadows. When people go deeper in the shadows they become more vulnerable to exploitation.'

The problems of the Latino community are being reflected across the US. In May, nearly 400 mostly Guatemalan workers at a meatpacking plant in Ohio were arrested. Instead of being deported, many were convicted for offering false identification and sentenced to five or more months in prison. In a recent speech on illegal immigration, presidential candidate Barack Obama said: 'We need a practical solution for the problem of the 12 million people who are here without documentation.'

In the Hamptons, there is no such solution in the offing. The Southampton congressman Tim Bishop said: 'I don't think there is a broad understanding of the kind of havoc we are looking at,' he said.

The tension between native locals and the immigrant workers is unlikely to improve as the local economy deteriorates, in common with the rest of America. 'I call it mob mentality,' said Sister Margaret, whose caseload includes taking unscrupulous employers to court for employing Latino workers, often cheating them of their pay - and then reporting them for failure to pay taxes. 'I go after the employers and take them right into court. But people are afraid - they're afraid of people who look different even though they're not competing for the same type of work.'

As the cost of keeping the hedges trim and children cared for begins to spike upwards because of a shortage of immigrant labour, the Hamptons immigration debate is likely to become even more explosive. In East Hampton, there have already been a series of seminars on how better to integrate Latino workers into the community. But the burden of undocumented and often illiterate immigrant labourers still falls to charity groups and church outreach programmes which may now be stretched beyond their limited means.

According to community activist Ligia Soto, 'people are still arriving regardless of what they hear or see on the news. Things may be difficult but they still want to come here to feed their families and achieve their dreams - and to go back home eventually.'

At least they will find a sympathetic hearing with Lois Nesbitt, a local business owner. 'If you need a local plumber,' she said, 'you have to call five and hope one will show up. Immigrant labourers come to work on time and work hard.'

'If you need a local plumber,' she said, 'you have to call five and hope one will show up. Immigrant labourers come to work on time and work hard.'

You are absolutely correct. The local plumber will also charge too much. Even so, that is no justification for allowing illegal aliens to come here and work. Illegal means illegal.

Originally Posted by USA_born

'If you need a local plumber,' she said, 'you have to call five and hope one will show up. Immigrant labourers come to work on time and work hard.'

You are absolutely correct. The local plumber will also charge too much. Even so, that is no justification for allowing illegal aliens to come here and work. Illegal means illegal.

Hey, they have the money, so who cares??

This is just another example of the Elitist Politicians and their Elitist Contributors “socializing benefitsâ€

Originally Posted by USA_born

'If you need a local plumber,' she said, 'you have to call five and hope one will show up. Immigrant labourers come to work on time and work hard.'

You are absolutely correct. The local plumber will also charge too much. Even so, that is no justification for allowing illegal aliens to come here and work. Illegal means illegal.

Illegal aliens as plumbers?!?!?! ROFL! How many of them even had indoor plumbing in their home countries?!?! Suddenly, they are qualified to be plumbers in the US? I don't think so!

I know how long someone has to work in an "apprentice" type position before getting licensed as a plumber, and that's AFTER they pass the test!

My mother had an illegal (we found out he was illegal after the fact) "fix" her water heater. First cold snap, it broke down. I called an AMERICAN plumber. Long story short, the illegal had hooked it up in reverse and if that water heater had not broken at that point, it would have exploded and destroyed the house. NO MORE!

ANYONE that comes into my home, to fix anything, I follow and watch and he'd better speak ENGLISH!

The division was already there but being ignored by many...

Close the Border

Send all illegals home

Originally Posted by WorriedAmerican

Originally Posted by USA_born

'If you need a local plumber,' she said, 'you have to call five and hope one will show up. Immigrant labourers come to work on time and work hard.'

You are absolutely correct. The local plumber will also charge too much. Even so, that is no justification for allowing illegal aliens to come here and work. Illegal means illegal.

Hey, they have the money, so who cares??

You would be surprised!! The richer they are, the tighter they get with a buck! They will spend $100,000 on a car, but heaven forbid they have to pay a plumber $200 bucks to fix a toilet...

Illegal aliens as plumbers?!?!?! ROFL! How many of them even had indoor plumbing in their home countries?!?! Suddenly, they are qualified to be plumbers in the US? I don't think so!


Illegals don't have to pass tests. They work"under the table' and pay no taxes or overhead. All cash. I mentioned that because I watched it happen where I live. The young plumber came with an older man and another helper after the local was unable to do the job. They obviously do plumbing in Mexico. It takes a gang to do the job but they get it done. They did a job that the local plumber was not able to do even though he worked for a large company. They had determination. The old one had the know how.
Mexico is not as backward as some people think.

I still say that is no justification for allowing illegal aliens to come here and work. Illegal means illegal.

As a Long Islander, I've attended a few outdoor protests in areas that have been totally taken over by day laborers - Farmingville being the worst but of course those activists all got labeled as racists. Our paper, Newsday, is completely biased in the favor of illegal immigrants and wouldn't even print any letters that I wrote to them.

Personally, I haven't seen such a massive crackdown as mentioned in this article, at least not in the areas of working class families like myself. Just in the rich areas like The Hamptons.

Every week when I drive to my chiropractor, there are between 30-40 of them hanging out at what is deemed a worksite. (The irony of it all, is that there's a town sign that says something like, "named one of America's greatest towns" or something like that), yet it looks like little El Salvador!

This hangout is in a working class area but about 10 minutes from there, is an upper middle class hamlet known as Halsite (named in honor of Nathan Hale), where the perfectly manicured lawns are all done by those same day laborers.

I used to hear that the people in this particular town didn't do much to fight against illegal immigration. But those in Farmingville seemed to be more engaged in the battle.

However, even within such activist groups there are various differences in strategies. I disagreed with some of the people as I felt this was just like a PR campaign. In order win the public over, you should focus your anger toward the government who is allowing this to take place rather than a bunch of poor illegal (non-violent criminal) immigrants that is.

Anyway, at one point, some activists were even planning to protest in front of a local Catholic church.. On Easter Sunday! (they supported illegals). Boy, Newsday would have had a field day with that one. From a public relations standpoint and (perhaps a spiritual one), I thought it was completely crossing the line. The fact that this issue is very emotional for both sides, I believe appearences are everything and although it's hard, we have to hold ourselves up to a higher standard.

But as far as The Hamptons are concerned I'm not about to shed a tear for those businesses who pay for cheap labor rather than hiring American kids who are off for the summer. But I do wonder why the crackdown all of a sudden.

'The Latino community are living in uncertainty and fear,' said Sister Margaret Smyth, the head of a church group in Riverhead, one of the poorest areas of Long Island. 'As a result of the crackdown, we've created a new underclass of women and children. Their men have been deported but they want to stay because they want their children educated. Before, people were poor; now they are extremely poor.'

Sister Smyth, illegal aliens SHOULD be living in "uncertainty and fear". They are NOT supposed to be here! And because of the "crackdown" there is a "new underclass of women and children", BUT IT WASNT THE FAULT OF ENFORCING OUR LAWS! Illegal aliens have bought this problem on themselves. DEPORT THEM ALL SO THEY CAN BE REUNITED WITH THEIR FAMILIES!