06:27 PM CDT on Wednesday, May 31, 2006

By Doug Miller / 11 News

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An emotional fight over a day labor site in east Houston has come to a climax at City Hall.

KHOU-TV

Houston City Council passed a controversial contract for a day labor site on the city's east side. 

A deeply divided city council has finally voted on that site’s $100,000 contract.

The sparks were flying Wednesday as the city’s political leaders cast their votes on funding the day labor site.

With day laborers hanging out on street corners, Houston’s city government has funded day labor sites for years now.

So this site’s city contract might have just sailed through city council.  But now, immigration has flared into a hot button political issue.  And the noisy debate echoed in Houston City Hall.

“Our country is being invaded,” immigration critic Wanda Sisco said to Houston City Council before the vote.

So for a time, it looked like Bill White just might lose this vote.  One of the councilmembers he was counting on was absent.

“The responsibility is on the employers as to whether they’re hiring somebody that’s illegal or not,” said Houston City Councilmember Sue Lovell.  “I would like the city to help employers not break the law.”

So councilmembers on White’s side pushed an amendment that could have delayed a vote.

“It’s clear what’s being done here,” said Houston City Councilmember Addie Wiseman.

“And there is political posturing behind this,” Councilmember Pam Holm said.

In fact, so many amendments went on the table that even the mayor got mixed up.

“It turns out to be a little more complicated than I thought,” said Mayor Bill White. 

“We have all kind of debates going on,” said Councilmember M.J. Khan.

In the end, M.J. Khan, a Republican immigrant, became the swing vote.

“Let’s just vote on it and stop with the political games,” said Wiseman.

And the day labor site won a renewed a contract.

But the new contract comes with a catch.  The day labor site will be required to give these to people hiring workers at the site an I-9 Form, which is supposed to verify whether potential employees are U.S. citizens.  But the city government will not require day laborers using the center to fill out the forms.