Barletta to make immigration reform announcement

on May 3, 2011

When he was mayor of Hazleton, Lou Barletta, became known nationwide for launching his own anti-illegal immigration crusade. He signed a law for his small town of no more than 25,000 that fined local businesses for hiring and landlords for renting to illegal immigrants. The law also made English the official language of Hazleton.

Barletta was sued and the law was found unconstitutional in federal court.
Now a U.S. congressman, Barletta, a freshman Republican in Washington for a little over 100 days, is taking his mission to the federal stage. He'll hold a press conference on Wednesday morning "to unveil steps he is taking to stop illegal immigration."

As mayor, he criticized Washington's inability to move forward on immigration reform. On CBS in 2006, Barletta described himself as a "small town defender"

"Thousands of cities in America are crying out for relief from the burden of illegal immigration. Small towns like mine can no longer wait for Washington," he said. "The federal government has failed us, so we, the elected officials of small-town America, are getting tough with illegal immigration."

Politico reported Tuesday that the White House plans to increase "intensity" on the immigration issue.

http://blogs.mcall.com/penn_ave/2011/05 ... ement.html