Thread: Altoona latest to approve illegal immigrant crackdown

http://www.pennlive.com/newsflash/pa/in ... ylist=penn

Altoona latest to approve illegal immigrant crackdown
9/27/2006, 11:53 p.m. ET
The Associated Press


ALTOONA, Pa. (AP) — City Council members on Tuesday night approved a measure aimed at cracking down on illegal immigrants by punishing companies that hire them and landlords who rent to them.

The council voted 6-1, with member Matt Garber dissenting, to adopt the "Undocumented Alien Control Ordinance" proposal, which is similar to a measure passed in Hazleton earlier this year.

Before the vote, members heard passionate testimony from people for and against the ordinance.

"Who will take care of the people made homeless and unemployed?" asked The Rev. Luke Robertson, Catholic Charities director. "What might passing this kind of ordinance do to the soul of this city?"

Businessman Greg Sheehan, however, said the measure could keep problems such as depressed wages and crime from reaching Altoona, a city of about 47,000 that is 85 miles west of Pittsburgh.

"It's coming," he said. "We need to stop it before it happens."

The vote came a couple of weeks after a Blair County jury recommended that Miguel Padilla be sentenced to death for the murders of three men outside a city nightclub last year. Immigration authorities have said that Padilla, 27, of Gallitzin, had been in the country illegally from Mexico since he was about 9 years old.

Garber said he was concerned about how the ordinance would be enforced and the risk of litigation. He said he favors the employment provision but is not sure the rental provisions give landlords enough time to evict or enough tools to determine legality of renters.

Representatives of the Roman Catholic and Episcopal churches, the American Civil Liberties Union and some community activists had asked the council to table the ordinance. Bishop Joseph Adamec of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown earlier said that if it was passed, there should be a "grandfather clause" allowing poor families to get help if needed.

Since the Hazleton vote, more than a half-dozen communities in eastern Pennsylvania have either passed or considered similar crackdowns on illegal immigrants, as have a number of municipalities around the country.

Hispanic activists and the ACLU sued to overturn Hazleton's illegal immigrant law, but the lawsuit was rendered moot earlier this month when the city passed a replacement law designed to better withstand a legal challenge.

http://www.altoonamirror.com/News/artic ... cleID=5196

Thursday, September 28, 2006 — Time: 2:06:57 AM EST

Alien ordinance OK’d

By William Kibler, bkibler@altoonamirror.com


After weeks of debate and controversy, Altoona City Council Wednesday adopted an ordinance designed to make it difficult for illegal aliens to stay in the city.

The ordinance calls for license suspensions and fines for businesses that hire and landlords who rent to illegal aliens.

People in attendance spoke passionately for and against the ordinance before the council’s approval.

The Rev. Luke Robertson, Catholic Charities director, didn’t explicitly call for residents to ignore the ordinance, but he spoke of the honorable tradition of civil disobedience in our nation, beginning with revolutionaries who broke away from England and culminating with opponents of the Jim Crow laws.

He spoke of the difference between a law that can stand up to legal challenge and one that will stand up to a moral test.

“Who will take care of the people made homeless and unemployed?” Robertson asked rhetorically. “What might passing this kind of ordinance do to the soul of this city?”

Robertson asked the council to table the matter, “until you can hear more from the business community, landlords and human service agencies” so all can work together for comprehensive immigration reform.

By contrast, businessman Greg Sheehan congratulated the council for a measure that can keep the city from being inundated by problems caused by illegals, who in other areas have depressed wages, created an underground work force and brought in crime — illustrated by a gang trial recently reported from the Washington, D.C. area.

“It’s coming,” he said. “We need to stop it before it happens.”

Local veterinarian Matt Stachmus took a different tack, talking about illegal aliens he has known in missionary work.

“I’ve lived on both sides,” he said.

The current immigration system is an ‘‘indignity’’ to Americans and people south of the border, he said.

Stachmus said bad laws and bad border security have led to friends like “Manuel” from Virginia.

The man paid $6,000 to come to the country, earns $9 per hour in a poultry plant and lives in a mobile home with five other men.

Manuel has a wife in Mexico and a child he never has seen. He sends a big part of his money back home, speaks little or no English and owns a car but lives by mostly false documentation.

It’s clear the federal government isn’t fixing the problem that Manuel is caught up in, so it’s up to local government to try, he said.

“I’m touched,” Mayor Wayne Hippo said, adding that it wasn’t just because Stachmus agreed with the ordinance. “Clearly you spoke from the heart.”

The council adopted the ordinance 6-1, with Matt Garber dissenting.

Afterward, Garber explained that he doesn’t favor illegal immigration but isn’t sure the benefits outweigh the cost.

The city doesn’t know enough about training of code officers in enforcement, how enforcement will work, the risk of litigation and whether the federal government may change the rules.

Garber favors the employment provision, but he isn’t sure the rental provisions give landlords enough time to evict or enough tools to determine legality of renters.

“You can’t vote for half an ordinance,” he said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 949-7038.

The city doesn’t know enough about training of code officers in enforcement, how enforcement will work, the risk of litigation and whether the federal government may change the rules.

Geez, all they have to do is call Lou Barletta in Hazelton

If Father Luke Robertson is so worried about what will become of these illegals, I have a suggestion for him and the bishop: throw open the doors of the Bishop's mansion and invite these people in. Pay all of their expenses, including healthcare and education for their children, for as long as they decide to stay there.

I for the life of me cannot understand the logic behind this thinking which places the welfare of illegals OVER that of law-abiding, LEGAL citizens and residents. I just don't get it and it is so frustrating!

One other thing: if "Manuel" is so darned poor, how does he come up with $6,000? I would be very hard pressed to come up with that kind of money. $6,000 is A LOT of money down there in old Mexico, too!