Posted on Wed, Mar. 21, 2007

Hazleton Relief Act trial
Expert lists immigrant statistics
Steven Camarota says up to 3,400 live in Hazleton and cost more than in other areas.


STEVE MOCARSKY smocarsky@timesleader.com
Read one of John Doe depositions
Read one of John Doe depositions
Read one of John Doe depositions
Read one of John Doe depositions
Read one of John Doe depositions
Video: Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta talks about testimony
Video: Defense attorney Kris W. Kobach talks about the testimony
Video: Plaintiff attorney on expert witness

SCRANTON – Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the Illegal Immigration Relief Act trial have been hammering witnesses with the same question over the past week – how many illegal immigrants live in the city of Hazleton?

No one has been able to provide a definitive answer – until Tuesday.

Steven Camarota, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C., testified that between 1,500 and 3,400 illegal immigrants live in Hazleton.

And while illegal immigrants cost the federal government an average of $2,700 in services more than they pay in taxes on a national level, Camarota estimates that illegal immigrants in Hazleton consume more than $5,000 in local and state services more than they pay in taxes.

Camarota said that because illegal immigrants are generally less-educated than legal workers, they make less money and pay less in taxes, if they pay taxes at all. He also said statistics show that only 50 percent to 60 percent of illegal immigrants are paid “on the books.”

“The rest are paid under the table?” U.S. District Judge James Munley asked.

Camarota said cities such as Hazleton are “specifically vulnerable” to losing money to illegal immigrants because the city relies on earned income tax for a majority of its taxing revenue. Municipalities in some other states that rely on sales taxes to pay for services aren’t hit as hard, he said.

Camarota said he bases his numbers on national Census data – applying it to Hazleton – and administrative records which include English as a Second Language student numbers from the Hazleton Area School District.

Camarota said a fact Mayor Lou Barletta used to prove his contention that the city is overrun with illegal immigrants boosts his contentions as well.

Barletta pointed out last week that although the city saw population growth of 7,000 to 10,000 residents since 2000 and a nearly $1 million spike in assessed property values, earned income tax revenue remained stagnant. He said that showed many people either are not working or they are working but aren’t paying taxes.

Camarota said about 65 percent of illegal immigrants don’t have health insurance, which he said accounts for four- to five-hour waits in the emergency room at Hazleton General Hospital that city officials have noted.

Plaintiff attorney Denise Alvarez, of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, asked if Camarota was aware that a large number of immigrants in Hazleton are Puerto Rican. He said he was not.

After proceedings ended, Alvarez said Camarota was “playing with numbers and didn’t have any basis for the information he’s given us.”

Defense attorney Kris W. Kobach saw things differently.

“He established very clearly that the fiscal burden to state and local governments is huge. … And Camarota is the national expert on demography concerning aliens both legal and illegal,” Kobach said.

The city’s other expert witness to testify Wednesday also offered testimony to show a negative fiscal impact of illegal immigrants.

Jack Martin, special projects director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, testified that illegal immigrants are much more likely to impose a burden on the criminal justice system than legal immigrants because legal immigrants are screened for potential criminal behavior and a criminal history before they’re granted immigration status.

Plaintiff attorney Foster Maer tried to discredit Martin’s expert status.

“He had no expertise. Someone who’s had no formal training, academic background, personal experience shouldn’t be qualified as an expert,” Maer said.

Maer also said it was clear that Martin’s “advocacy on behalf of the positions of his employer taint and shape his opinions, and his denial of accepting criticism” on a report he prepared on the cost of illegal immigrants on an ESL program show him to be biased.

Martin agreed that he was criticized for failing to include $500 million in federal reimbursement for an ESL program when considering the impact of illegal immigrants on the program.

Hazleton Police Chief Robert Ferdinand also completed his testimony on Tuesday.

Ferdinand spent more than four hours on the witness stand going over crime statistics and describing crimes he said were committed by illegal immigrants.

He detailed the investigation of the Derek Kichline homicide – the May 10, 2006, shooting that Barletta says prompted him to find a solution to the city’s problem with crime being perpetrated by illegal immigrants. Police say two illegal immigrants were arrested in that homicide.

Ferdinand also detailed such incidents as police apprehending a 14-year-old illegal immigrant they say fired shots on a city playground the same day as the Kichline shooting and was later found with crack cocaine hidden under his tongue when arrested.

The city is defending its Relief Act and a related landlord/tenant registration ordinance against a lawsuit claiming the laws are unconstitutional and pre-empt federal law.

The laws would fine landlords who rent to illegal immigrants, suspend licenses of businesses that hire them and require all city tenants to show proof of citizenship or immigration status.

Barletta has been criticized by opponents of the ordinances for failing to provide statistics that showed an increase in crimes committed by illegal immigrants.

Plaintiff attorney Tom Fiddler, of Philadelphia law firm Cozen O’Connor, pointed out that the city produced only about 20 police reports specifically mentioning crimes committed by illegal immigrants between 2001 and 2006.

Ferdinand said many crimes committed by illegal immigrants were not documented as such for a variety of reasons, but he’s observed “an absolute increase” in such crimes in 2005 and 2006, especially violent crimes and the trafficking of narcotics.

After the plaintiffs finished their case with Ferdinand’s testimony, they gave depositions of four unnamed plaintiffs to the judge to enter into evidence.

Munley previously ruled that certain plaintiffs would not have to testify in person because “exceptional circumstances” exist in the case.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs have said four of their clients, if identified, could suffer reprisal from city officials or be deported by the federal government because they could be illegal immigrants.



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