“I’m not anti-immigrant, but their need to be employed doesn’t mean they can cause chaos on our streets,” said Mr. Venditto, a Republican who pointed out that he is the son of an immigrant. “My predisposition is for these people to get on the highway to citizenship; in the meantime, the ordinance is a short-term solution.”

Image Marchers protested a law they said prohibits “waving while Latino.” Credit... Ruby Washington/The New York Times

Oyster Bay is hardly alone. Some 1,500 local ordinances aimed at controlling an influx of illegal immigrants have been introduced in the last 10 years nationwide. Several dozen were enacted and still stand; one, in Riverside, N.J., was repealed after the town noted that the exodus of immigrants had caused a significant dip in the local economy.

The latest trend is the federal 287(g) program, an arrangement between the Homeland Security Department and municipalities to train the local police to function as immigration law enforcers. Such partnerships are in place in 67 jurisdictions nationwide, including Danbury, Conn., and Monmouth County, N.J. In New York, Suffolk County, on Long Island, and the villages of Brewster, in Putnam County, and Suffern, in Rockland County, have also expressed interest.

A 2008 study by a University of Minnesota professor noted that “suburban immigrant populations now outnumber and are growing faster than their counterparts in major cities,” and said many of these communities have responded with “the implementation of ordinances and other local policies specifically designed to exclude illegal immigrants from their community.”

Until recently, Oyster Bay had a track record of tolerance and even helpfulness to immigrants, including those here illegally, said Luz Torres, director of Centro Cultural Hispano de Oyster Bay. There was disappointment over the town’s refusal to post bilingual signs at its parks and railroad station, she said, but Mr. Venditto helped find classroom space for the center’s English classes.

The good will eroded with the passage of the ordinance, which Ms. Torres refused to translate into Spanish for the town (officials found a police officer to do it and have been handing out leaflets detailing the new law).