The day laborer debate took on a personal note in Southampton Village Saturday with a protest in front of the mayor's house.

About 10 people protested over the ongoing debate over illegal immigration in front of Southampton Village Mayor Mark Epley's home. One protester says of the mayor, ?He seems to be content on opening an illegal hiring site over by 7-11.?

Protestors moved their rally to a location at the center of the debate, a field by the 7-11 on North Sea Road. The mayor says day laborers had been coming there for years, so the village added gravel and a hedge to keep people out of traffic. Epley says he had to try to find some solution. But protestors say the village is helping people who are in the U.S. illegally and who don't pay taxes.

?I'm not taking a stance on immigration one way or another, I'm just trying to clean up a street in Southampton,? says Epley. The mayor is now proposing a bill that would prohibit people from waiting for work along streets or commercial parking lots. He expects to bring it before the village board later this month.