The (Minute) men seeking a fight are not going away as long as we do nothing. They brag that they have won a victory in Southampton -dispersing day laborers from their gathering place near the 7-11 to nearby streets. Their tactics here are part of their organizing strategy.
Southampton Village Mayor Mark Epley has a sensible plan. He wants the Village to provide a space in a new park to be developed on Aldrich Lane (just south of the 7-11 convenience store) for day laborers to meet from early morning until noon each day. The group Coalition for a Worklink Center will manage a hiring site with funding from private sources at that location until a more permanent home for the operation is found. The hiring site will be for all seeking work.
The operation of such a center is not a new concept. It will link workers with employers and help insure the workers are paid. Hiring sites such as is proposed exist in places such as Freeport, Hempstead and Glen Cove on Long Island and towns across the country. Such sites operate successfully particularly when local police and officials are supportive.
The underlying factors that drive immigration can only be addressed byWE must act to provide for our domestic tranquility.
fundamental changes in policy at the national level. Meanwhile, it is not
reasonable to expect that the US will be able to stem the tide of immigrants
across the border or to arrest the large number of un-documented people
who are here now.
So we urge the Mayor and the Village Trustees to move ahead with their plan. To do nothing is not an option.
