Council committee rejects plans for more cooperation with feds.

By Paul Muschick

Of The Morning Call

September 13, 2007

The three latest attempts by Allentown City Council to weigh in on immigration issues received little support Wednesday, with a council committee rejecting two and deadlocking on the third.

The two rejected proposals are sponsored by Councilman Louis Hershman, who has been pushing legislation against illegal immigration for more than a year.

His proposals have gotten significantly weaker, though, as time has passed without success.

His efforts have been lauded by some, and labeled racist by others. He first proposed a law similar to one recently ruled unconstitutional in Hazleton, penalizing landlords for renting to illegal immigrants and penalizing businesses for hiring them. He has spent several months trying to get city police more involved in enforcing laws against illegal immigration.

Wednesday, council's Legal and Legislative Committee recommended that council reject Hershman's legislation to ask federal authorities to train city officers in ''statistically tracking and monitoring the impact of illegals in our city, and enforcing immigration laws.''

Committee members Martin Velazquez III and Julio Guridy, both of whom are Hispanic, said they believe police already work with federal authorities when necessary.

''I think it is overkill,'' Guridy said. ''I think the Police Department is doing their job and if they find somebody that's undocumented, they report it.''

Hershman said he believes a closer, more formal relationship between city and federal officers would reduce crime.

''I want to improve the quality of life in Allentown,'' he said. ''Crime is one of the issues that affect the quality of life.''

The full seven-member council will vote on the legislation at a later date, along with the two other proposals discussed Wednesday by the council committee.

Hershman also wants council to sign a resolution urging state officials to follow a recently adopted procedure in New Jersey. There, the attorney general's office has ordered local police officers to investigate the immigration status of people arrested for drunken driving and other serious crimes, and notify federal immigration officials if they believe a suspect is undocumented.

The council committee also recommended Wednesday that council reject that plan, repeating their points that city police already work with federal authorities.

The committee discussed, but did not take a position on, a pro-immigrant resolution drafted by Guridy.

He wants council to urge Congress to pass legislation making it easier for young illegal immigrants to attend college and become legal residents.

It would allow states to offer in-state college tuition rates to students who are in the United States illegally, something that's currently prohibited by federal immigration law. Those students now must pay higher international rates, which Guridy believes makes it impossible for them to afford college and stymies their ability to get good jobs and contribute to society.

Guridy said children of illegal immigrants should have the same opportunities as other children, and not be held back because they were forced to come to the U.S. illegally when their families brought them here.

Hershman said he agrees they had no choice in coming here, but said lawbreakers should not be rewarded.

The two-man committee did not reach a recommendation on the resolution because Guridy supported it and Velazquez would not. He said the matter should be discussed at the federal level, not by Allentown leaders.

Copyright © 2007, The Morning Call

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