Dozens showed up in Hauppauge Tuesday to attend a hearing on Suffolk Executive Steve Levy's proposed immigration bill.
Fifty-seven residents waited for their chance to voice support or opposition for the bill, which would require any company doing business with the county to prove its employees are in the country legally. Lawmakers say the bill is aimed at contractors who constantly exploit immigrants, the county and taxpayers.
Critics of the measure, which Legislator Ricardo Montano (D-Central Islip) says is the first of its kind in the United States, say the bill opens the door for legal citizens to become victims of discrimination.