Thread: Mayor still getting fan mail, notoriety & $41,000 in 2 d

Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta has a lot of fans.

They leave messages at his office, or send letters and e-mails supporting his stance against illegal immigration. And they’re not just from Barletta’s hometown of Hazleton or even Pennsylvania – they’re from all across the country.

Barletta received stacks of mail in support of the Illegal Immigration Relief Act after signing the law last year.

The outpouring never really stopped, said his assistant Cherie Homa, who has been manning the phones and checking e-mail back at city hall, while Barletta and other city officials defended the act in federal court this past week.

But she see spikes in activity after each national television appearance Barletta makes to discuss the controversial act, which imposes fines on landlords who rent to illegal aliens and denies business permits to companies that employ them.

And the phones haven’t stopped since the trial began, Homa said. The voicemail seems to fill up within minutes of her leaving her desk, she said.

Homa also finds herself checking the messages from home before she goes to bed – just to clear out the voicemail box, she said.

It also makes room for calls that might come from other time zones, because calls aren’t just from the continental United States. Calls have also come from Anchorage, Alaska, and Honolulu, Hawaii, Homa said.

Some people want to offer legal advice or want to testify on behalf of the mayor, she said. Some people just want to say to keep up the fight or that they’re proud of Barletta, Homa said.

Many are angry at the American Civil Liberties Union for taking the side of the illegal aliens, which they call un-American, she said.

Almost all want to talk to Barletta, Homa said.

“I wish he could talk to all of them,” she said, but it’s just not possible.

And every caller has a story, Homa said. One person told her that an illegal alien killed a relative, and that story really hit home, she said.

Barletta first proposed the crack down after a series of violent crimes culminating with the shooting death of a man, allegedly at the hands of an illegal immigrant.

Not all the recent calls have been positive, Homa admits. She thinks there have two against the mayor’s stand, and those callers haven’t been mean or unkind, she said.

The Standard-Speaker has also got numerous emails and letters from throughout the country, and the majority support Barletta.

Douglas Andereson of North Carolina applauded the mayor’s action, and wishes his own public officials would stand up for them.

“We are overrun with illegal Mexicans who tax our social services to the point we are left without,” he wrote. “Believe in your mayor and know that what he’s doing is for your best interests. God bless your mayor.”

Joseph Barille of California has seen the quality of life in his area dwindle, and it’s worse in the larger cities, he said.

“I’m proud that a city with some guts is standing up for what is the right thing to do for your city,” he wrote. “Hold tight and don’t let the minority take away from what the majority wants for its citizens.”

Anita Meidl, also of California, described her state as a third-world country, where non-Spanish speakers can’t find a job and graffiti, gangs, drugs, drive-by shootings and fatherless children are the norm.

“Stick to your guns and get rid of them, then come out here and work on ours,” she wrote.

George Kalishevich of Coaldale wonders why citizens should obey federal laws, if so many people have crossed into the United States illegally and receive support from the ACLU.

“Will the ACLU and other such organizations then come forth to defend us? If a federal felony can be so easily dismissed, what else can we get away with?” he asked. “Either we have laws concerning immigration or we don’t.”

Kenneth R. Kuhlman of Idaho hopes the Hazleton’s citizens are backing Barletta, because there is more at stake than just an immigration issue.

“If this country doesn’t stop the illegal invasion into our country we will have no hope of maintaining the quality of life that has made this country great,” he wrote.

Nicholas Miller of Hazleton does believe that Barletta is doing a good job for the city, and would do well for the nation.

“I would rather see Lou Barletta as the President of the United States instead of President George G.W. Bush in the oval office. He just doesn’t care if we are safe but Barletta makes me safer. He should run for president.”

Another Hazleton resident, Henry Ramirez, wrote that he won’t be voting for Barletta in his bid for mayor, let alone president. He also suggested the mayor has created an atmosphere of hate that is prevalent in the city’s schools.

His letter was one of the few against Barletta, and others were anti-Hazleton, as opposed to against the city’s stance.

Barletta, though, has other signs of support, including numerous contributions to Hazleton’s Legal Defense Fund.

After appearing on the O’Reilly Factor on Fox News a week ago Friday, the fund received $41,000 in donations in two days, the mayor said Friday after leaving federal court.

And CNN’s Lou Dobbs put a link on his website to the city’s Small Town Defenders website, where online contributions can be made to the fund and people can read the latest news on the federal trial.

Barletta, now a recognizable face in a crowd due to the publicity generated by the illegal immigration law, also has strangers coming up to him asking to shake his hand, or to take his picture, he said.

While in Scranton, a day hasn’t gone by that someone hasn’t approached him or council members Joe Yannuzzi or Evelyn Graham as they walk from the parking garage to court, or while on a lunch break, Barletta said.

Others honk their horns when they see him and say a few words as they pass by, he said. Some have come up to him to say that they’re praying for him, Barletta said.

“There’s no question (the support is) incredible,” he said. “They’re beeping their horns and rolling down the windows to say that they’re with us and they support us.”

http://www.standardspeaker.com/index.ph ... 2&Itemid=2

The vast majority of legal citizens of this country are with this man. I hope he never stops...I don't think he will. His support from all over the country is too obvious.

So relieved to hear the mayor has rec'd more money because we all know he's fighting endless money with the ACLU and others. That's not right in itself.

I sent a donation but court costs can be astronomical I hope it helps. he looks so stressed when you see him on tv and the ACLU is so arrogant, you just want to slap them.