(09/19/06) RIVERHEAD - Suffolk lawmakers voted 15-3 in favor of a long-anticipated and controversial immigrant worker bill Tuesday night.

A 20-year-old federal law mandates businesses must be able to prove the legal worker status of all employees. Lawmakers say the goal is to deter employers from hiring illegal immigrants and the bill starts with county contractors. Suffolk County is the first county to legislate the issue and enforce the federal law at the local level. The bill has been the focus of two public hearings and a series of protests.

Some legal workers are against the bill, expressing fears of discrimination. Supporters, meanwhile, say the bill will not affect legal immigrants and workers.

Leg. Vivian Viloria-Fisher (D-Setauket) says if the county is serious about having workers prove their eligibility it will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. She says legal fees alone will substantially drain the county's resources.