Leaders urge fed action on illegals
Posted on Mon, Aug. 06, 2007
Leaders urge fed action on illegals
By MAURA POSSLEY
mpossley@bradenton.com
With the inaction on Capitol Hill this summer in the nation's dilemma over illegal immigration, many reform advocates and opponents are looking locally for a solution.
A high-profile case that has become the forefront of that movement is that of Hazleton, Pa., where city officials last year passed a measure to fine businesses who hire illegal immigrants and landlords who rent to them, said Omar Jadwat, staff attorney for the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project, during a national conference call on immigration reform this week.
But last week, a federal court in Pennsylvania called it unconstitutional.
The ruling has shone a light on a trend of cities around the country taking up the issue of immigration on their own, after Congress failed to pass reforms this summer, Jadwat and others said.
"What it does show, unfortunately, is Congress needs to get off their rear and tackle this important issue," C.J. Czaia, a local attorney and Latino community activist, said later. "Regardless of their opinions, it's something Congress needs to address. Obviously, these people are feeling they need to do something because the federal government has not."
From California to New Jersey, local governments are considering enforcement measures aimed at the illegal population.
"Towns like Hazleton are kind of small towns standing on their own against an onslaught of immigrants," Jadwat said.
Close to 100 other U.S. cities looked to the Hazleton case as a model of what their governments can enact, said Agapito Lopez, a Hazleton activist.
While there is fear in the immigrant community that more cities will follow the example of Hazleton, action at the local level could bring about other changes to the current dilemma, including creating an identification card for undocumented immigrants or a temporary driver license to track the population as a way of ensuring its safety and that of the community.
"There is a threat that they're going to put all these rules in place, and they're going to start excluding and oppressing people," said Luz Corcuera, an activist in the Latino community here. "It has to be something that is constructive, proactive and compassionate."
But other advocates of immigration say the issue must be dealt with uniformly at the federal level.
"There has to be dialogue, there has to be work on immigration, there has to be compromise," said Czaia, also chairman of the Manatee County Democratic Party and twice a Congressional candidate. "They (Congress) have to come outside the box and come up with a solution."
In addition to local measures that have cropped up around the country, city police officers have become immigration police.
But local officials and state lawmakers representing Manatee County have previously said they prefer to leave the immigration issue at the federal level, maintaining uniform policy.
The idea of authorities policing immigrants' status has not been discussed at the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, said spokesman Dave Bristow.
Likewise, it has not been brought up within the Bradenton Police Department, said Bradenton Police Maj. J.J. Lewis.
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