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Posted on Mon, Jun. 26, 2006



Stu Bykofsky | Hazleton illegals part of new civil war




HAZLETON - The United States, to paraphrase Lincoln, is in the midst of a great civil war.

So far, no shooting, but you never can tell.

In Lincoln's time, a key issue was slavery. In our time, it's illegal immigration.

Cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago have declared themselves sanctuaries for illegals and refuse to enforce federal immigration laws. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson last week said his cash-strapped department doesn't have the resources to chase undocumented workers. Other cities have promised to crack down on undocumented workers and enforce immigration laws when the federal government won't.

Hazleton, snuggled in the Poconos two hours north of Philadelphia, is among the latter.

After King Coal died, factories opened in industrial parks here and attracted workers, many of them Hispanic, some of them undocumented. No one really knows how many. Some sponge up city services; a few commit crimes.

Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta and the five-member city council believe the illegals present a clear and present danger, and drafted legislation targeting their employers and their landlords.

Simultaneously, a bipartisan group of Pennsylvania state reps last week introduced a package of bills that would make it a felony to hire illegals and will cut off certain government services.

It looks like a civil war.





Under clouds hanging as low and dark as funeral bunting, I drove up to Hazleton on Saturday to get a feel for the center of controversy.

The first feeling was familiarity. The main street is Broad, and streets named Vine, Locust and Pine cross it. Unlike our Broad Street, Hazleton's had few pedestrians and was dotted with shuttered stores and others with "Going Out of Business" signs. Hispanic presence was symbolized by a hand-lettered sign, "Plaintains $2.35," in the window of the Golden City Chinese Restaurant on Broad.

Despite some signs of downtown decay, Barletta, a 50-year-old Republican, says the city budget has been in the black by about $200,000 for the past two years. The town's population was 23,000 in the 2000 Census and Barletta now estimates it as 31,000.

It's been a struggle to remain in the black because of the added cost of services siphoned by illegals, Barletta said, although he didn't have figures at hand to prove it. Crime's also mushrooming, but he couldn't quantify it.

How you feel can be more important than what's on a ledger sheet.

The "turning point," Barletta said, was May 10, when a man was shot between the eyes, killing him. Four illegal aliens have been charged with the crime.

"This is not a normal occurrence in a town of 31,000," he said. "We usually get one murder every seven years and talk about it for the next six years."

Later on the day of the homicide, a 14-year-old fired a gun in a playground. And that was followed by drug busts, gang activity and graffiti.

Before starting his political career 10 years ago, Barletta and his wife, Mary Grace, owned Interstate Road Marking, which paints lines on streets and highways, including Philadelphia's.

He's a man who knows where to draw the line. The shooting crossed it.

"People are terrorized. The quality of life we boast of is in jeopardy," he said.

Barletta's response was an ordinance to revoke the license of any business knowingly hiring illegal aliens and to fine landlords $1,000 for each illegal they rent to. That sent up a flare that attracted the national media moths - Barletta's been on CNN, Fox, NBC, ABC, MSNBC and more - and done interviews with radio talk shows and newspapers from coast to coast.

Someone joked last week there was more media than immigrants in Hazleton.

I tried to get the viewpoint of the immigrants (the majority of whom are from the Dominican Republic), but there weren't many on the streets. I found about a dozen men in the unadorned Melo Barber Shop on Church near Broad, but none wanted to talk, and a couple clearly were strangers to English.

In an Inquirer story, Anna Arias, president of the Hazleton Area Latino Association, said she felt betrayed by Barletta. But he makes a point in every interview of asserting he favors legal immigration.

He's received 5,000 calls, letters and e-mails supporting him, few condemning him, he said. No one has yet threatened to sue if the laws are passed, which could come as early as July 13.

I bet someone will sue.

I also bet more towns and cities will follow Hazleton's example in fighting illegal immigrants.

It's a civil war, and we're a long way from Appomattox.


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E-mail stubyko@phillynews.com or call 215-854-5977. For recent columns: http://go.philly.com/byko.





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