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Immigration battle rumbling out of peaceful Pocono Mountains
Home News Tribune Online 07/22/06
The Web site for Hazleton, Pa. says that the city in the foothills of the Pocono Mountains is frequently ranked as one of the safest in the United States.


"Hazleton does not experience very much serious crime at all," it says.

It may be time to update the site.

City Mayor Louis Barletta says crime is on the rise and "illegal aliens" are to blame.

Last month he introduced an "Illegal Immigration Relief Act Ordinance" that the City Council passed four to one on July 13.

The law, which will penalize businesses and landlords who work with or rent to illegal immigrants, has prompted municipalities in Florida, Massachusetts, Alabama and Washington State to craft comparable mandates.

And in the Garden State, the Riverside Township Council in Burlington County has begun discussing a similar measure.

Could such a law come to a town in Middlesex County? Only time will tell.

Barletta said Hazleton's residents are afraid to walk down city streets, referring to a homicide, a playground shooting and other crimes involving illegal immigrants.

Illegals are to blame for failing and overcrowded schools, fiscal hardships on city hospitals and an overall diminishing of the quality of life, he recently said.

He may need to further update the city Web site, which reads:

"It's the Greater Hazleton Area's excellent quality of life that makes the area so attractive to people and businesses from all around the world."

Those from "around the world" who find themselves "attracted" enough to want to move there better have documentation now that the local law is in place. And local business owners that depend on illegal immigrants may have their livelihoods threatened.

Employers who hire illegals will have their business permits taken away for five years on a first offense.

Landlords who rent to them will pay a minimum $1,000 fine. Illegal tenants will also have to come up with $1,000.

The New York-based Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, or PRLDEF, plans to file a lawsuit to stop the ordinance.

"The issue of immigration cannot be solved on a town-by-town basis," said Lee Llambelis, one of the attorneys for the organization.

Llambelis recently visited with Latinos in Hazleton, including Dominicans, Mexicans and Puerto Ricans.

"This ordinance is causing hostility within the community — Spanish-speaking American citizens who sought out services and have been asked to provide a green card," Llambelis said.

The PRLDEF has the federal law on its side, she said.

The Congressional Research Service, a nonpartisan public policy research arm of the United States Congress, recently reviewed the ordinance and concluded that state and federal courts would be precluded from enforcing many aspects that give rise to legal challenges "if it results in discrimination on the basis of national origin rather than citizenship."

PRLDEF is prepared for the long battle, Llambelis said.

"We'll fight Hazelton and continue from there," Llambelis said. "I expect lots more (municipalities to introduce similar laws) down the pike. Hopefully, by stopping Hazleton's law, maybe they'll get the message."

Gina Vergel covers Latino Affairs for

the Home News Tribune. (732) 565-7228.

E-mail gvergel@thnt.com.