April 15, 2008 7:20 PM
A member of the audience pointed out that when he has work done on his house, the contractor always tells him is he pays in cash, the contractor won't charge him sales tax. So why aren't we going after contractors, start at the top?
Another participant pointed out that on Long Island that many immigrants are having trouble with enrolling children in schools because of lack of documentation. Luckily we had an expert in the audience and she suggested that the participant find an advocate for this issue because it can be difficult to work with school districts and this seems to be a growing trend. A representative from the Suffolk ACLU also said to contact them because sometimes just a letter will help the situation.
The question was put back to the panel about how some of these strategies to educate children can enable a community to gain strength.
David Verduin said most kids will learn English very quickly. In Riverside, the Superintendent of schools took the stand that no matter their documented status, every child will get an education.
Another participant asked what do we say to members of the community who believe immigration doesn't affect them.
Matthew Crosson stated that we all want to live in a community where we all support each other. He suggested pointing out that it could poison childrens' minds. Also when business shrinks, taxes go up. He suggested using the same points over and over and hope that eventually it sinks in.
Another participant asked what happened to Riverside taxes and politicians.
David Verduin said yes taxes went up and the tax base was much less. All politicians were defeated in huge landslides. The old mayor said "I guess they didn't like what we did."
Matthew Crosson used the example of Fairfax County, VA which has become one of the most diverse and growing communities in the US. The working population went from 250,000 workers to 560,000 in the county in 25 years. Because of this boom, the tax rate actually became lower. Surrounding counties who were not as open, have been suffering economically. He believes the people in Fairfax County would say that the diverity of the community is the reason why the community grew so successfully. Educated people do not want to move to intolerant communities.
The next question was in Riverside were there day laborers. David Verduin said they didn't really have many because they had a strong network for work.
Andrea just asked David Nyce what his thoughts were on the recent raids in Greenport. He said he was horrified and had no idea that they were going to happen. ICE used the excuse that they were looking for gang members and picked-up others as a result. Greenport police spent years gaining the trust of the immigrant community and it was lost overnight. At a community meeting, there were many families who had no idea where a loved one was and it was scary. There was no communication between the village, town, federal government. He feels they were done cowboy style. He commends the County Executive of Nassau for saying they will not cooperate with ICE.
A participant in the audience said the only way to succeed in America is to speak english. He believes that the worst thing we do to children is put them in bilingual programs because it slows the process. Another participant said she strongly disagreed. Andrea said that she is hoping that Lou Dobbs will be a spokesperson for ESL, since he is such an advocate for assimilation.
Next question is wondering how we can be more effective in getting businesses involved in advocacy for immigrants. She has found that businesses are hesitant to be on the front lines.
Matthew Crosson said most businesses are in organizations that have people like him to advocate for them so they do not have to become political. Most businesses do not want to take on controversial topics so it doesn't affect business. He says many businesses need to be educated on the issue. A lot also has to do with personality.
David Verduin said in Riverside businesses had orignally decided to stay out of politics. They realized that time spent on the immigration bill which affected business also took away time from other legislation that would help businesses. He said the people who were deadset in favor of the legislation are still deadset on it. He uses the example of a rally to educate people on immigration in his local park. He went and there were about 22 people, 15 from out-of-town and it turned out it was an anti-immigration rally.
The next participant pointed out that whenever immigration is brought to the forefront, it completely polarizes different labor groups. She believes the only way to work through these issues in Suffolk County is to bring labor leaders into the conversation.
Matthew Crosson said he believes labor groups on Long Island understands that intolerance is bad for everybody.
A participant pointed out the Legislator Viloria-Fisher and a few union leaders are in the audience and she believes there are unions and elected officials who do want to find fair solutions for immigration.