Thread: Will Protests Get Personal?

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Immigration/US Borders

Title: Will Protests Get Personal?
Source: Southampton Press
URL Source: http://southamptonpress.com/detail.asp? id=2
Published: Apr 13, 2007
Author: Grant Tse
Post Date: 2007-04-13 16:44:29 by Budweiser
2 Comments

Will Protests Get Personal?

Grant Tse -- 4/13/07

North Sea Road in Southampton Village has long been the site of aggressive protests against day laborers and illegal immigration, and now the ongoing construction of a hiring site on a nearby lot might push the tension into new territory: right outside Mayor Mark Epley's home.

Members of the Anti-Illegal Immigration Association (AIIA), a group that has been protesting near the typical gather area at and around the 7-Eleven on North Sea Road for months, said this week that they will be demonstrating in front of Mr. Epley's house on Harvest Lane on Saturday morning.

And Mr. Epley is not taking the news lightly.

"If they bring a mob to my house, what's going to happen is that someone's going to get hurt," he said. "I'm taking this as a threat to my family. I have four kids, and I will take all precautions necessary."

When asked to clarify that statement, Mr. Epley replied, "Let's just say there's a reason why my nose has been pushed all over my face."

Tom Wedell of East Moriches, the founder of the AIIA, did not return calls this week seeking comment following up on a telephone message left with The Press, which announced plans for the protest.

Mr. Epley has been the public official at the forefront pushing for the creation of a hiring site in the village, explaining that such a facility is needed to address the problem of day laborers gathering en masse along village streets each morning, waiting for work. The day laborers, most of them Spanish-speaking immigrants, still gather near the 7-Eleven, but in recent weeks the crowds have shifted farther south in the village. The mayor has talked about the "aesthetic" and safety problems posed by the daily gathering.

Two weeks ago, Mr. Epley announced that construction had started on a hiring site on the preserved lot located just south of the 7-Eleven on Aldrich Lane. Village workers installed hedges around the vacant lot, purchased by Southampton Town in 2001 with Community Preservation Fund money, and installed a gravel driveway, benches and portable toilets. There will be no buildings or trailers on the site, and the work is being funded by donations, according to the mayor.

The construction has angered some of the protesters, who claim that Mr. Epley is using taxpayer money to illegally build a hiring site. Protests over the past two weeks have been particularly intense. And just this week, members of the AIIA said that they intend to hold a rally in front of Mr. Epley's home to protest his decision to open the facility.

Mr. Epley noted that there are no sidewalks in front of his home, so protesters must either trespass by standing on his front lawn or block the road. Either way, he said, the protesters would be breaking the law and could be arrested.

Mr. Epley said he was not surprised by the move: four protesters had visited his neighborhood last weekend looking for his house, he alleged. He added that the protesters had also mentioned plans for a protest at his home on blogs in recent weeks.

"They've staked out my house," Mr. Epley said. "I'm being singled out."

The hiring site has long been a point of contention in the village. The village and a coalition have been looking for a suitable site for a "worklink" center-a place for day laborers and those hiring them-for more than a year, only to be met with legal problems and community resistance. Mr. Epley settled on the Aldrich Lane lot after no other suitable sites could be found. A previous proposal, which called for keeping a trailer on the site, had been dismissed because land purchased with CPF funds cannot be built on, but the mayor said his plan, which involves no buildings, skirts the limitations by, in essence, adding only elements of a park.

Southampton Town Supervisor Patrick Heaney said this week that he remains "skeptical" of the village's plans, noting that the proposal comes "precariously close to a non-conforming use" of preserved land. He said the village needs to develop a management agreement for the site, and noted that CPF guidelines do not state whether or not a not-for-profit can manage a facility on protected land. A staff member from Catholic Charities will oversee the site when it is completed.

Mr. Heaney, who says he has requested more information from the village, including copies of the resolutions authorizing the project, said the proposed site appears to be an open-air hiring hall and less like a park.

"This leaves me shaking my head," he said. "I understand that the village has a serious issue. But ... it could have been done in a such a way that doesn't scream out 'open-air hiring hall.'"

Mr. Epley defended his plans. "We are not changing the use-there were already guys on that property," he said, noting that day laborers now stand on the parcel when soliciting work.

The 7-Eleven has been ground zero for protests against illegal immigration, and tensions have always been high-the day laborers and the protesters are often standing only a few feet from each other. So far, reports of physical violence surrounding the protests have been rare.

Sister Margaret Smyth, the leader of the coalition that has been looking to establish a worklink center in the village, said that security for the new hiring site is a major concern. She said she fears the protests will only get more aggressive once the village's plans are operational.

"The protesters must be frustrated that they're not coming out on top," she said.

Southampton Village Police Chief Bill Wilson noted that in the past two weeks, two protesters had been arrested for disorderly conduct. One was blocking traffic on Aldrich Lane, and another was standing in the way of construction crews working at the hiring site, he said.

Sister Smyth said the protesters have been constantly taunting and insulting both her and the day laborers, and that things have only gotten worse in the past few weeks.

"I'm surprised they don't have laryngitis," Sister Smyth said. "They call the day laborers homosexuals. They call me 'trash' and 'slave-master.' They followed me down the block asking me why I'm not wearing a habit and asking me how much money I make off the backs of these people. They are constantly insulting the Catholic Church."

On one occasion, Sister Smyth said that one of the protesters brought his children to the site, and told her that he wanted them to see "who was taking the food out of their mouths."

Sister Smyth said the day laborers usually ignore the protesters. "The men just look at them and go about their business," she said. "The protesters are not able to provoke them."

Mr. Epley said he was considering establishing a 60-foot buffer zone between the protesters and the new hiring site, adding that police will closely monitor the area. Mr. Wilson said police will try to maintain a presence at the site, but he noted that the department's resources are stretched thin during the busy summer months.

"We have a zero-tolerance policy in place, and that goes for everyone," Mr. Wilson said. "I don't anticipate that there's going to be any trouble."


http://southamptonpress.com/detail.asp?id=2

So illegal aliens can tresspass thousamds of miles into the United States and spend years here but citizens upset that historic buildings will not be preserved n order to pander to them can not spend fifteen minutes one foot into your lawn.

The mayor has talked about the "aesthetic" and safety problems posed by the daily gathering.

As long as it is not in front of the mayor's house anything goes.

Epley's house sounds like the perfect protest site.

Dixie

Originally Posted by Dixie

The mayor has talked about the "aesthetic" and safety problems posed by the daily gathering.

As long as it is not in front of the mayor's house anything goes.

Epley's house sounds like the perfect protest site.

Dixie

As usual, Dixie cuts right to the heart of the matter.