And recent events in Schoharie and Delaware counties show it’s not only areas of the country near the border with Mexico that have had opinions and emotions run high on both sides.
Earlier this month, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, along with local and state police, arrested 31 suspected illegal immigrants said to be employed by subcontractors at a summer camp in Gilboa owned by Oorah Inc., a Jewish nonprofit educational organization.
Twenty-six of the men lived at the Belvedere Inn in Stamford, while the other five lived at the campsite. They all had stayed at the camp earlier in the summer, according to camp officials.
Eliyohu Mintz, a director of Oorah, said the organization was not aware any of the workers were in the country illegally. They came from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and the Palestinian territories.
Meanwhile, Stamford Mayor Anne Slatin said the owner of the Belvedere Hotel also most likely didn’t know the men’s legal status.
"It’s not illegal to rent rooms to a foreign traveler," she said.
There might seem to be a lot of blame to go around in this situation, but the responsibility for finding legal workers ultimately rests with the subcontractors hired by the camp.
However, we also wish the camp owners had expanded their horizons and looked for local residents to do the construction work. That could have provided some much-needed jobs and built goodwill with the community, besides avoiding any legal problems.
Goodwill apparently has been in short supply, as neighbors have been complaining about the camp’s addition of nighttime lighting, according to Gilboa town Supervisor Anthony VanGlad.
Some neighbors in Stamford said they were surprised by the raid, but others likely were not.
As the country continues to wrestle with the best way to improve our border security while treating people humanely, it’s important that Americans not rush to judgment about the people in their communities.
It’s simply unfair to assume that anyone with brown skin or a Spanish surname is in the country illegally _ or that those who are deserve to be mistreated or exploited because of it.
The best way to handle situations like this one is for residents to report any legitimate suspicions and let the authorities deal with them accordingly.
ICE spokesman Michael Gilhooly said the assistance of the local and state authorities was instrumental in cracking this case.
We want people to obey the law and come to America legally if they want to work here.
But that requires more government action to make legal immigration easier, and until that happens, companies and residents shouldn’t flout the law, or try to take it into their own hands.
Editorials
Immigration issue hits close to home
- Editorials
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Women must win fight for opportunity
The Pentagon announced Thursday that it will recommend that Congress officially allow women to serve in more jobs closer to the front lines.
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Center helps victims of child abuse and neglect
We learned some good news about some terrible news in a story by reporter Joe Mahoney in Tuesday's Daily Star.
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Chamber made excellent choices on service awards
A special committee selected by the Otsego County Chamber has made two excellent decisions regarding the organization's annual awards for service to our communities.
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Cheers
To Michael Shea, Terry Bliss, and the passage of the bill to allow Otsego's exit from MOSA.
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A sad tale may come to an end with arrests
People are almost always sad, and sometimes outraged, whenever something awful happens to a fellow human being.
Continued ... - Saturday, February 4, 2012
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Pill abuse should be a priority for police, pols
Sens. Charles Schumer of New York and Mark Pryor of Arkansas proposed a bill this week to help police combat a disturbing trend of increasing prescription drug abuse.
Continued ... - Friday, February 3, 2012
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More needs to be done to aid vets with PTSD
The recent story of Stamford grandmother Melody DiGregorio grieving the loss of her grandson, Air Force veteran Edward "Drew" Snyder, brings home the debilitating and often-unreported effects of post-traumatic stress disorder on our service men and women.
Continued ... - Thursday, February 2, 2012
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Area 'shocked' at underage drinking? That's shocking
It has been referenced so often that it has become a cliché.
Continued ... - Wednesday, February 1, 2012
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School's new lease on life a welcome development
It is a big place designed to echo with the sounds of young people in a healthy learning environment.
Continued ... - Tuesday, January 31, 2012
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Cheers
To the Central American Youth Ambassadors Program, to Ray Preston and to the NCOC building trades class and the Prattsville Fire Department.
Continued ... - Monday, January 30, 2012
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Mitt's not at fault for loopholes in tax code
As the longtime frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney has faced withering attacks from rivals seeking to upset him.
Continued ... - Saturday, January 28, 2012
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Rest in peace, Naples and Stalter
Our area recently lost two important and influential members of our community: Oneonta surgeon Dr. Kenneth D. Stalter and newly elected Sixth Ward Council Member Mike Naples.
Continued ... - Friday, January 27, 2012
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Case closed on 2 years of turmoil
"Case closed."
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Oneonta Mayor Dick Miller was referring to possible criminal charges against fired police officer Michael Breen on Wednesday, but Miller just as easily could have been talking about the more than two years of turmoil the city has endured with its police department. - Thursday, January 26, 2012
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Obama played his cards right Tuesday
Despite a daunting economy and a challenging re-election campaign, on Tuesday night President Barack Obama displayed what Mark Twain called "the calm confidence of a Christian holding four aces" in his State of the Union address.
Continued ... - Wednesday, January 25, 2012
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Searching for votes instead of honor
Say what you will about John McCain, the Republican nominee for president in 2008 who inflicted an ignorant Sarah Palin upon an unsuspecting nation.
Continued ... - Tuesday, January 24, 2012
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Cheers
To MLK Jr. Day events, Diana Nicols, and Jordan Beers and Mariah Ruff.
Continued ... - Monday, January 23, 2012
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Dignity not enough to show in speech
After weeks of watching the often unseemly, if not downright humorous, antics of the Republican candidates for his job, President Barack Obama should have little trouble providing at least one thing Tuesday night in his State of the Union address. Dignity.
Continued ... - Saturday, January 21, 2012
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Tension with Iran is better than war
The dispute between Iran and the U.S. appeared close to boiling over into outright war last week, when a bomb in Tehran killed an Iranian nuclear scientist and Iran sentenced an accused Iranian-American spy to death.
Continued ... - Friday, January 20, 2012
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Let's hope no funding means no drilling
When it comes to state approval or disapproval of hydrofracturing in New York state, we certainly hope that no news is good news.
Continued ... - Thursday, January 19, 2012
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Testing is no way to judge teachers
Like him or not _ and according to the latest polls, more then 70 percent of New Yorkers do _ you've got to give Andrew Cuomo credit for guts.
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Women must win fight for opportunity
