Thread: Pa. Town's Immigration Law Challenged

We knew this was coming...

http://www.forbes.com/business/manufact ... 31655.html

Associated Press
Pa. Town's Immigration Law Challenged
By MICHAEL RUBINKAM 10.30.06, 8:35 PM ET


Advocates for immigrants sued the city of Hazleton on Monday, seeking to block an ordinance that would impose steep fines on landlords who rent to people living in the country illegally.

In its lawsuit filed in federal court in Scranton, the American Civil Liberties Union said the ordinance and a companion measure set to take effect Wednesday violate the Constitution because they trample on the federal government's exclusive power to regulate immigration.

The laws would impose heavy fines on landlords who rent to illegal immigrants, deny business permits to companies that employ them, and require renters to register and purchase a renter's permit at City Hall.

The plaintiffs - which also include the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, several illegal immigrants facing eviction, landlords, and a businessman - said they would also seek a federal injunction blocking the laws.

"Immigration reform is an important issue, but if every little town like Hazleton across the 50 states makes up their own rules about immigration, we're going to be left with an even bigger mess," said Witold J. Walczak, legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania.

Mayor Lou Barletta, who has argued that illegal immigrants have brought an increase in drugs, crime and gangs to the town, disagreed, saying the laws did not regulate immigration, but instead targeted those doing business with illegal immigrants.

Hazleton's ordinance, which was announced in June, has spurred other towns to pass similar laws. The lawsuit and a similar one brought by the ACLU in Riverside, N.J., are being viewed as test cases, as local officials, frustrated at what they perceive as the federal government's inability to stem illegal immigration, take matters into their own hands.

Barletta said that he is convinced the courts will uphold the law and that the city has assembled a legal team to defend it.

"It's unfortunate that these special interest groups would choose to file a lawsuit against a small city that is struggling to protect itself," Barletta said Monday night. "Hazleton is prepared to fight, and we will take this challenge to the highest court in the United States if that's what it takes to protect our legal citizens and quality of life."

The law empowers the city's Code Enforcement Office to investigate written complaints about a person's immigration status, using a federal government database.

The companion ordinance requires tenants to register their name, address and phone number at City Hall and pay $10 for a rental permit. Landlords who fail to make sure their tenants are registered will face a $1,000 fine, as well as a levy of $250 per tenant, per day. The goal is to discourage illegal immigrants from trying to rent in Hazleton.

Hazleton, a city of 31,000, is about 80 miles from Philadelphia.

I find this ironic...since...the nj and La raz stated in a letter to My NJ governor
http://www.njipn.org/publications/Broch ... 0for%20Gov[1].%20Corzine.pdf
State of New Jersey Has Its Own Responsibility o
Although the federal government is responsible for Immigration policy, state- and local governments have responsibility for policies for immigrants, i.e. addressing the special needs and concerns of almost 1.5 million foreign-born people living in New Jersey
There is a clear distinction between federal "immigration" matters and an "immigrant" policy dealing with real people in real communities, the latter being a state and local responsibility.
. IN NEW JERSEY, STATE AND LOCAL POLICE SHOULD NOT ENFORCE FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LAW
Note: This position has already been taken by some New Jersey cities and their mayors, such as Mayor Douglas Palmer of Trenton.
What is the role of state and local police? o
To protect and serve the cities and towns in New Jersey.
detailed below.
Why shouldn't state and local police enforce immigration laws? o State and local police enforce federal and state criminal laws. o Infractions of immigration laws do not carry a criminal penalty, even though undocumented immigrants, immigrants with old deportation orders or a criminal record or persons arriving to the port of the United States without valid entry documents are subject to detention. DHS has a system in place to handle these cases
Sincerely (on behalf of our coalition partners: see enclosed list),
Partha Banerjee, Ph.D. Marlene Lao-Collins
Executive Director, New Jersey Immigration Policy Network Associate Director for Social Concerns, NJ Catholic Conference (Adopted after position paper of National Employment Law Project (NELP) and National Council of La Raza (NCLR); for a comprehensive report, please visit: http://www.nelp.org/docUploads/Low%20Pa ... 0903%2Epdf)

now we know that immigrates are protected by laws because they are legal

added to the homepage

ALIPAC Note: The ACLU hopes to stop other cities and towns in their tracks by suing Hazelton. We ask all of our city and county level supporters to continue with their ordinance plans while watching this case closely. We cannot allow an Open Borders group like the ACLU to override the will of the public by filing suit.

http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=N ... e&sid=1644