Thread: Hazleton: Illegal Immigration Case Opens in Federal Court

Illegal Immigration Case Opens in Federal Court



Monday, March 12, 11:16 a.m.
By Josh Brogadir

A landmark illegal immigration case in Hazleton now shifts to Scranton. Lawyers from several advocacy groups are arguing today that the city of Hazleton's Illegal Immigration Relief Act is unconstitutional.

Opening statements wrapped up a short time ago.

Aside from city crews cleaning up from the St. Patrick's Day parade, the action outside the federal courthouse in Scranton has been the local and national media attention.

Television news trucks are lining North Washington Avenue in front of the courthouse.

It is the first federal trial involving a small municipality, the city of Hazleton, that has tried to crack down on employers and landlords who do business with illegal immigrants.

The Illegal Immigration Relief Act was first passed last July. Several groups, including the ACLU, that filed suit against the city of Hazleton filed into the courthouse earlier this morning.

They allege local government should not oversee immigration, and that is up to the federal government. They also accuse the city of discrimination.

At the center of it all is Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta. He claims the ordinance is needed to protect his city from illegal immigrants who bring crime and rising costs in healthcare and education to Hazleton.

"You'll probably hear the opposition talk about illegal aliens who they feel have been harmed, but how about legal Americans who have been harmed, as well," Barletta said as he went into the courthouse.

http://www.wnep.com/Global/story.asp?S=6213662&nav=5ka4

March 12, 2007 - 12:36 AM EDT
Lawyer: Hazleton oversteps on immigrants
The Morning Call
SCRANTON -- SCRANTON -- Hazleton is usurping federal authority by cracking down on illegal immigrants at the local level, an ACLU attorney told a federal judge here this morning in opening arguments of a nationally watched trial.

Vic Walczak also said in his opening statement that there is no evidence to back up Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta's claim that illegal immigrants are destroying the quality of life in the small northeastern Pennsylvania city.

"Even if illegal immigrants really are wreaking havoc on Hazleton, that doesn't change the legal analysis," Walczak said in opening statements. Walczak is legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania.

But Kris Kobach, a University of Missouri law professor representing Hazleton, said the only real question is whether "the city acted rationally in passing this ordinance."

It did, Kobach said, after a two-year crime spree that included murders and involving illegal immigrants. Kobach -- and Mayor Barletta -- stressed that the law targets illegals of any race.

"This is directed at illegal aliens, wherever they are from," Barletta told reporters during a lunch break. "They are destroying the quality of life in so many communities [across the U.S.].

ACLU's Walczak called Barletta an "opportunistic mayor" who has "made the rounds. He's been on every TV program and has made the rounds on the Republican fundraising circuit."

Kobach said the town has welcomed immigrants throughout its history, from Irish immigrants in the 19th century, to Italians in the early 20th century, and Hispanics in the 1980s and 1990s.

But after 2000, "something had changed. Hazleton had seen new criminals and new sorts of crime," said Kobach, an immigration adviser under former Attorney General John Ashcroft.

The city had one murder in 1994 and didn't have another until 2001, when a killing was allegedly committed by an illegal immigrant, he said. There was a total of five more murders in 2005 and 2006, allegedly all by illegal immigrants, Kobach said.

He also said that Congress has clearly stated its intent that states and municipalities can help the federal government enforce immigration law, noting that in 1996 Congress requested states and municipalities to ascertain the immigration status of anyone seeking public benefits.

The nonjury trial is expected to last two weeks.

It has been nearly a year since Hazleton embarked on a high-profile campaign to rid itself of illegal immigrants. The city's Illegal Immigration Relief Act would impose fines on landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and deny business permits to companies that employ them. A companion measure requires tenants to register with City Hall.

U.S. District Judge James Munley, who is presiding over the trial, barred enforcement of the laws pending the outcome of the case.

Dozens of cities and towns around the country have followed Hazleton's lead, approving laws ranging from penalizing companies that employ illegal immigrants to making English the official language of local government.

The Hazleton laws were prompted by a number of high-profile crimes involving illegal immigrants. Two illegal immigrants from the Dominican Republic were charged in May 2006 with shooting and killing a 29-year-old man, while a 14-year-old boy was arrested for firing a gun at a playground.

In court papers, Hazleton said illegal immigrants have committed at least 47 crimes since last spring, consuming much of the city's police overtime budget. Illegal immigrants were the subject of one-third of all drug arrests in 2005, and they have driven up the costs of health care and education, the city said.

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-imm ... ?track=rss

Hopefully they are successful. We need someone to push this through to the supreme court so that we can get all illegals out of our country. Those that rent to illegals and those that hire illegals need to repay americans for the cost of education and medical care. Illegals need to stay in their own country not in ours.

Go Hazelton Go. Thousands of Americans are behind you!