Border battle goes well beyond Suffolk

Border battle goes well beyond Suffolk

Political pollsters from around the country are racing with lights and sirens to Suffolk County. They seek to track whether the approval ratings of County Executive Steve Levy rise or fall following a fierce political standoff over the extension of a sales tax versus a hiring hall for undocumented aliens.

Candidates and pundits wresting with their own questions over undocumented immigrants will study how voters respond to this erupting dispute on Long Island, using it as a valuable political litmus test for their own purposes.

Don t doubt for a moment that this feud will attract national attention. The drama that is now being played out in Suffolk County may be little more than the opening act for similar conflicts in suburban townships throughout the nation. In truth, our nation s immigration policy is a terrible muddle. We have seen the ineptitude of the Bush administration to demonstrate that it will follow the basic principles of the law by securing our borders. The president has lost the confidence of the American people by failing to take needed action by securing our borders and halting the flood of illegal immigrants. Why should the American people believe that if the proposed legislation is passed, the government can do what it has failed to do for years?

The rhetoric and anger that exists between Albany and Suffolk and among our federal lawmakers is hurtful to our pluralistic society. For a county whose residents bear one of the highest tax burdens in the nation, this crisis has the potential of morphing from a debate over illegal aliens into a potent pocketbook issue. Steve Levy s fury is understandable. He is at the tail end of a national policy on undocumented aliens that simply doesn t work. Is there any wonder why this factitious debate has brought us to an untenable position?

Suffolk County residents are being told that this feud may cause them to lose over $300 million in revenue, forcing drastic layoffs and resulting in even higher property taxes. It is unconscionable to think that the Black and Hispanic Caucus would allow the citizens of Suffolk County to be unfairly victimized in this manner.

I am confident that in the fullness of time, the leadership of Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno will result in a settlement of this explosive situation, but make no mistake about it; this is the tip of the iceberg. The resentment that many feel is caused by the politics of open borderers. Washington should start now by demonstrating to the American people that it will secure our nation s borders and not make a mockery of the law. Only then will the American people, whether in Suffolk County or elsewhere, be willing to explore guest worker programs and pathways to citizenship for immigrants.

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