April 22, 2008 9:47 AM
One of the more discouraging things that I hear about the anti-immigrant bill in Suffolk, I.R. 1105, is that it is primarily "symbolic". Folks who say this just don't recognize how dangerous this bill is.
When Suffolk passed its first contractor bill in 2006, I said it would be mainly symbolic. It applied only to contractors who had contracts with the county. It effected a small number of contractors who were already subject to enhanced scrutiny. And, in fact, the impact of the bill has been so limited that only one contractor has been fined under it.
IR 1105 is an entirely different animal. It targets more than 15,000 contractors employing tens of thousands of workers. Its passage will dramatically change the nature of home repair and remodeling in Suffolk. The new law's likely impacts are:
1. Labor shortages for employers-Similar bills in other parts of the country have already made it tough for bosses to get workers.
2. Delays in remodeling and repair as contractors find it hard to get crews.
3. Litigation explosion as competitors charge one another with violating IR1105 as a means of harrassment.
4. Increased repair prices for homeowners as contractors leave the marketplace.
5. Difficulty for homeowners in selling their houses because decrease in ability to get repairs done in a timely manner results in delays in bringing houses up to code for sale.
6. Massive discrimination against Latinos legally in the U.S. by employers afraid to hire anyone who "looks foreign" for fear of losing a license.
7. Layoffs of Latino workers, throwing family members, particularly U.S. citizen children, onto public assistance.
8. Collapse of businesses primarily serving the immigrant community. This will be followed by a more general slowdown in business as customers disappear and Suffolk becomes less competitive.
9. An enhanced national reputation for Suffolk for racial conflict.
10. A renewed sense among Suffolk's Latino population, now about 1/7th of the total population, that the county holds them in contempt as interlopers.
Please call your legislator today and tell him or her that this bill must fail.
Great post Pat...I'll be sending this to friends.
By Lisa Votino-Tarrant April 22, 2008 01:02 PM