Thread: BARLETTA DOES'NT BACK DOWN

BARLETTA DOESN'T BACK DOWN
The Citizens Voice (PA) :

March 15 , 2007 -- by WADE MALCOLM

"Whether it's one, 10, a hundred or a thousand, it's a problem," Barletta said, later adding, "Our city is crumbling under the strain of illegal immigration."
Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta has sat in plenty of spotlights and answered thousands of questions since proposing a law targeting illegal immigrants. But never quite like this.


Grilled for more than four hours on the witness stand Wednesday, Barletta again defended the city's right to punish landlords and employers doing business with illegal immigrants, this time under oath at the William J. Nealon Federal Building during day three of the trial of Lozano vs. City of Hazleton.


But Barletta also admitted he lacked statistics, evidence or research to support his main reason for proposing the ordinance -- that illegal immigrants are destroying the quality of life in Hazleton.


He also conceded he does not know how many illegal immigrants live in Hazleton, using city services like fire protection, sanitation and code enforcement. However, he testified, exact numbers were not needed to make his decision.


"Whether it's one, 10, a hundred or a thousand, it's a problem," Barletta said, later adding, "Our city is crumbling under the strain of illegal immigration."


In the most anticipated day of a trial expected to last two weeks, the majority of Barletta's cross-examination by American Civil Liberties Union attorney Witold J. Walczak was arduous and contentious, as expected.


When Barletta said the ordinance protected "the good old American worker," Walczak asked whether that also applied to Hispanic workers, a reference to the ethnicity some believe the ordinance targets.


"Absolutely, absolutely," Barletta said, his voice rising. "A legal worker. A legal, lawful worker."


The two fought over terminology, even disagreeing over Barletta's use of the word "illegal alien." Immigrant advocates use the term "undocumented."


For about the first half of his testimony, Barletta launched into long explanations in lieu of answering Walczak's yes-or-no questions directly, a requirement under cross-examination.


U.S. District Judge James M. Munley warned the mayor to stop with the long speeches, but Barletta refused to answer accordingly until Munley spoke up for the third time.


"This is cross-examination," Munley said. "You must answer yes or no, then give an explanation, if necessary."


Leading up to the trial and in his opening statement, Walczak publicly criticized Barletta, portraying him as a political opportunist more concerned with riding a wave of national attention from the media and border-control activists then protecting his residents.


"Mayor Barletta has been giving his sound bytes for months, and I'm beginning to wonder whether he is actually capable of not giving them," Walczak said. And during testimony, Walczak said to Barletta, "Every time I see you, you're either in front of the camera or rushing toward the cameras."


Walczak's questioning Wednesday suggested that Barletta doesn't have a firm grasp of complex immigration laws or how his ordinance would actually work if ever put into effect.


Hazleton does not have permission from the federal government to use any verification system for checking the immigration status of tenants. Yet in a newspaper ad and in public statements, Barletta said the city planned to begin enforcement Nov. 1, until the court order stopped it.


Barletta took the stand at around 10:30 a.m., arriving about an hour and a half after court started to have some extra time prepping with his lawyers. And aside from a lunchtime and afternoon recess, there he remained for the rest of the day.


Barletta will testify again today. Presumably, he will answer friendlier questions from one of his lawyers. The direct examination will give Barletta more freedom to expound upon his views.


"It was very frustrating," Barletta said after court closed Wednesday. "But (Thursday) I'll have my chance to say what I want to say."


However, Walczak will have another opportunity to cross-examine.


After testimony ended for the day, Walczak shared crime statistics Hazleton recently provided to the plaintiffs. According to the statistics, Walczak said, the city could only show that out of 8,575 crimes committed in a six-year period, only 20 to 30 are believed to have been committed by illegal immigrants. Illegal immigrants are known to have committed two out of 212 serious crimes like homicide, rape and robbery during the same period, the statistics also indicated.


The plaintiffs plan to question Barletta on those statistics today.


http://www.numbersusa.com/news?ID=7556

BARLETTA DOESN'T BACK DOWN

God Bless him and neither do we!

No matter what happens here we will press forward either way.