Barletta tells students he doesn’t hate immigrants
BY BORYS KRAWCZENIUK
STAFF WRITER
05/07/2008

DUNMORE — Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta says he doesn’t hate immigrants.


His crusade against illegal immigration has fueled a popular misconception he’s an anti-immigrant mayor, Barletta told more than 100 senior economics students Tuesday at Dunmore High School. It’s only illegal immigrants he wants to send home, he said.

Barletta was invited to address economics students by senior Nick Wascovich, 18, a follower of politics who was intrigued by his past as a one-time owner of a road line-painting business and his years as mayor.

The mayor is running as a Republican for Congress against U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke.

Barletta, who gained national attention for fighting illegal immigration through city ordinances that were eventually ruled unconstitutional, made the statements in response to another student’s question.

“How do you feel about immigrants having working visas and green cards?â€