Pride or prejudice?

Last week. the Long Island town of Huntington demolished a wooded encampment which served as makeshift shelter for the area’s day laborers, most of whom are in the U.S. illegally. With no homeless shelters in the town, and only one in the entire county (which does not accept applicants without proper papers), these immigrants have been forced out of shelter in the dead of winter. Many residents have been good enough to take people in.

Why would the town council decide to destroy the encampment, which had been around for years in a non-descript area, during the harshest months of the year? Are they being cruel or are they right in following city fire codes? Said one volunteer, “…some people around here would have more outrage about a dog being left outside than a group of hungry, homeless human beings.”