Immigrant advocates lash out at Suffolk executive over proposed documentation bill

Immigrant advocates gathered in Hauppauge Thursday to rebuff efforts by County Executive Steve Levy to pass legislation that would require county contractors to verify employee working papers.Advocates,

News 12 Staff

Aug 31, 2006, 5:51 PM

Updated 6,692 days ago

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Immigrant advocates gathered in Hauppauge Thursday to rebuff efforts by County Executive Steve Levy to pass legislation that would require county contractors to verify employee working papers.Advocates, business owners and unions are upset over the proposed bill. They say it will fuel discrimination and violence against immigrants. Immigrant rights advocate Reverend Allan Ramirez says he thinks Levy is trying to throw a bone to a right-wing, anti-immigrant crowd solely for political gain. New York Civil Liberties Union representative Udi Offer says the proposed legislation is riddled with constitutional flaws.Levy says he?s simply trying to pick up the federal government?s slack. He says they?ve been shirking responsibility for policing immigrants for too long. According to Levy, his proposal is an attempt to make sure that businesses working for the county are abiding by the law. There will be a hearing on the proposed law next Tuesday at the Suffolk County legislature building.