Thread: Hazleton formally approves revamped immigration ordinance

http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/15504535.htm

Posted on Tue, Sep. 12, 2006

Pa. city passes immigration measure


Associated Press

HAZLETON, Pa. - The Hazleton City Council formally approved a revamped immigration ordinance Tuesday, reworking the law it passed two months ago to strengthen it against legal challenges.

The revised version passed 4-1, and council members also voted unanimously to make English the official language of the city.

Like the version it replaces, the new immigration ordinance punishes businesses that employ illegal immigrants and landlords who rent to them in the city of 31,000 residents about 80 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

The biggest change is in the enforcement of the law. The burden of verifying immigration status will now be on the city, giving landlords and businesses time to correct violations before imposing sanctions, and softening penalties.

Under the agreement, Hazleton must give opponents who filed suit against the law at least 20 days' notice before it begins enforcing it - enough time to head back into court to try to stop it. The lawsuit was filed by the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union.

Hurrah!!!

http://www.standardspeaker.com

Quietly, illegals law passes
Wednesday, 13 September 2006
By L.A. TARONE
tarone@standardspeaker.com
Hazleton City Council approved both the Illegal Immigration Relief Act and the official English language bill on final passage during a rare late Tuesday afternoon meeting. Just as with first reading Friday, IIRA passed 4-1, with President Joe Yannuzzi, Vice President Jack Mundie, Evelyn Graham and Tom Gabos voting “yes. Bob Nilles voted “no.”

Making English the city’s official language passed unanimously.

The city has 20 days to formally inform opponents who filed suit against the original version of the bill – including the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union and a handful of private attorneys – of the revisions.
Opponents can amend the lawsuit.

The latest version of IIRA has changed substantially from earlier versions. The Code Enforcement Office (CEO) is responsible for enforcement.

Businesses will have to sign an affidavit pledging not to hire illegals. A notice of violation will result from a complaint. If a violation is alleged, CEO will send the business a notice requesting information. It has three days to respond. If it does not, its business privilege license will be suspended.

If an illegal is found to be in the employ of a business, the business will have three days to “correct” the situation.

However, if two or more illegals are found, the business has to enroll in the federal Basic Pilot Program, a system set up under federal immigration law to check status of job applicants.

Once the situation has been corrected, the business privilege license will be returned. But for a second and subsequent violations, the business privilege license will be suspended for 20 days.

The version of the law enacted in July had a suspension of five years for the first violation; 10 years for later violations.

It also requires businesses getting city contracts worth $10,000 to enroll in the Basic Pilot Program.

The section affecting landlords is now titled “Harboring Illegal Aliens.” Under it, renting to an illegal is considering harboring. Each illegal rented to is a separate violation.

Again, the Code Enforcement Office will handle enforcement. Just as with businesses, action is predicated on complaints.

Upon receipt of one, CEO will check the immigration status of the person involved. If he turns up illegal, the landlord will have five days to act. If he doesn’t, the city will suspend the landlords certificate – contained in the separate but related Landlords Registration Ordinance, first enacted in 2004 and amended in August.

During the suspension, the landlord is barred from collecting rent. For subsequent violations, the landlord is fined $250 each.

Mayor Lou Barletta said the revised Landlord Registration Ordinance contains a $1,000 fine for renting to anyone without an occupancy permit – and getting one requires proof of legal status.

The revised English bill still makes it the city’s official language and calls for city documents to be printed only in English. It allows translations in the cases of emergency situations and also allows anyone to use an interpreter.

It also contains a clause that says proficiency in English and other languages “benefits (the city) both economically and culturally and should be encouraged.”

Both the crowd and the controversy surrounding the proposals have greatly diminished. Only about a dozen people were in the audience. And opponents knew the bills would pass.

Council itself made very few comments. The only substantive comment about IIRA came from Councilman Bob Nilles during a brief, heated exchange with Barletta over a different and unrelated proposal.

Nilles restated his opposition to the ordinance. He said he felt uncomfortable with the landlords/tenant aspect of IIRA and has doubts it could withstand a court challenge.

But Nilles made a pitch for English as the city’s official language, dismissing the charge echoed Friday that it was “mean-spirited.” He reiterated his belief in the “value of our new arrivals learning English.”

“It is for their own health, welfare and safety, as well as the health, welfare and safety of our citizens who are here longer,” Nilles said.

Nilles also questioned whether the city should hook up with the Hazleton Area School District to make English classes available to those who work during the daytime.

“We can say all we want is we’d like them to learn English, but we have to do something to help them learn it,” Nilles said.

But Barletta noted the ballooning of HASD’s English as a Second Language classes, as well as classes offered by the Greater Hazleton Literacy Project, Luzerne County Community College and others. He said there were “adequate avenues” for people to learn English.

“But those who don’t already speak English may not know about them,” Nilles said. “We can put it in the Standard-Speaker all we want, but if they can’t read English, they don’t see it.”

Only three people spoke about either ordinance.

Dr. Agapito Lopez retired his belief that the clause requiring agencies to enroll in the federal pilot program was an “undue burden,” adding the wording suggested an “agency” could be any federal, state or local agency, as well as any private agency. He said he believed even churches fit the description.

Both Barletta and Solicitor Chris Slusser said his interpretation was incorrect.

Lopez also asked whether the police department would use documents and conversation in foreign languages as part of criminal investigations when needed. Yannuzzi said they would.

Antonio Rodriguez said Lopez had a point about the ordinance’s dealing with agencies and suggested a wording change to make it read, “Hazleton’s municipal agencies.” Both Barletta and Slusser said it wasn’t needed.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?news ... 5154&rfi=6

09/13/2006
Council approves newest illegal immigration law
BY WADE MALCOLM
STAFF WRITER


HAZLETON — As he has since the city first considered enacting an illegal immigration ordinance, Councilman Robert Nilles quietly cast the lone dissenting vote on second and third readings Tuesday night.

Otherwise, very little discussion among city officials accompanied the approval of Hazleton’s newest illegal immigration ordinance.

Until a few minutes later, that is.

Oddly, the ordinance, which punishes landlords harboring and businesses employing illegal immigrants, was revisited when Nilles introduced an unrelated ordinance forbidding the use of sewer sludge as fill material within city limits.

“You want to bring illegal aliens to the city, but you’re worried about keeping bio-solids out,” said Mayor Lou Barletta. He has vowed to proceed with the illegal immigration ordinance, which he proposed, despite a federal suit accusing it of promoting discrimination.

“You know I don’t want to bring illegal aliens to the city, and you know why I voted against the ordinance,” Nilles shouted back. “So don’t put words in my mouth.”

Later, he said: “We need to stop crime, and we need to stop illegal immigration. We also need to do it so we don’t get sued and cost the city a million dollars.”

Two national immigration law experts drafted the ordinance adopted Tuesday night, hoping to make it less vulnerable to the lawsuit.

With the new ordinance passed, enforcement could start within 20 days, but Barletta said he does not have a timetable for when enforcement will begin. The city will first focus on educating the community about the ordinance.

For the rental aspect of the ordinance — landlords can have their permits revoked if found to be renting to illegal immigrants — the city may have separate “registration days” for different parts of the city. All tenants in the city will be required to apply for a city-issued permit.

A business can have its permit suspended for employing illegal immigrants and incur fines for multiple offenses.

The plaintiffs suing the city — represented by the Puerto Rican League Defense and Education Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union and several other groups — now have the option to file for an immediate injunction blocking enforcement of the ordinance until the lawsuit is settled.

Laurence Norton, an attorney from the Community Justice Project, one group suing Hazleton, attended the meeting. He said the plaintiffs would have to discuss the new ordinance before deciding whether and how to proceed with the lawsuit filed in August. He said they also would try to learn more about the methods for enforcing the ordinance when considering amendments to the suit.

“We don’t know how (the ordinance) is going to work, and I doubt they do,” he said.

If a request for an immediate injunction is filed, it would “probably” be in the next 20 days, he said.

Council also voted on a separate ordinance to make English Hazleton’s official language, a measure that had been included in the original illegal immigration ordinance. It passed unanimously, but Nilles this time commented on the need to promote English through education.

“We can say all we want that we want them to learn English, but we have to do something to help them,” he said.

That was just before the fireworks started between Barletta and Nilles. At the end of the meeting, during the public comment session, city resident Antonio Rodriguez admonished Barletta for criticizing Nilles.

“Earlier you said Mr. Nilles wants to bring illegal immigrants to the city,” Rodriguez said, addressing Barletta. “You and I and everybody else here knows that is not true. I think you owe him an apology.”

Trying to restrain a smile, Barletta obliged, saying, “Bob, I’m sorry. I know you don’t want to bring illegal aliens to the city.”

Rodriguez darted over toward the mayor and shook his hand, while council President Joe Yanuzzi rapped his gavel to call for order.

Barletta later admitted he “could have used different words” to criticize Nilles.

“The people who support me generally don’t know why I voted against it,” Nilles said after the meeting. “I couldn’t sit there, and let him get away with that. He knows it’s not true.”

wmalcolm@citizensvoice.com

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