Thread: Jobs with Justice Responds to Rash of Anti-Immigrant Ordinan

http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article ... 4201/1/32/
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Jobs with Justice Responds to Rash of Anti-Immigrant Ordinances
By Jobs with Justice


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10-06-06, 10:05 am



Hazleton, PA is a former steel town of 31,000 people about 80 miles northwest of Philadelphia. In early July, Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta passed one of the most draconian anti-immigrant laws our nation has ever seen, the "Illegal Immigration Relief Act". The law will force businesses to fire suspected 'illegal' immigrants, prevent city government from providing any services in any language besides English, force landlords to evict undocumented immigrants, and require that all people living in Hazleton acquire a 'residency card.'

Mayor Barletta has lashed out against the city's Latinos due to what he cites as a rise in crime. In fact, the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports show that despite the influx of more than 10,000 immigrants in the last decade, crime has actually fallen. Since the immigrant workers have arrived, Hazleton has seen their declining economy rebound, and housing values have more than doubled.

The immigration debate has divided the town, and unfortunately Barletta's law has brought out the worst in a segment of the town?s population. A Philly JwJ human rights delegation to Hazelton found vandalized Latino businesses, graffiti proclaiming the presence of the "KKK" and condemning "spics." There were signs on the front of local bars and night clubs warning local Latinos to "Speak English or Leave," and that the businesses would serve "Legals Only."

Some Latino city residents tell JwJ that many of their neighbors have already moved out. Three hundred workers have already been fired from the American Pork Plant and VanHoekelen Greenhouses. Latino-run businesses already report that business has declined by as much as 50% because their customers fear congregating in public areas. When the law takes effect, whole families will be forced into homelessness. The Hazleton Latino community faces being denied vital public services in Spanish such as health care and voting material. Children will be denied access to education. This is a human, civil, and worker rights crisis that is being compared to moments in the Civil Rights Era. Will this small Pennsylvania town become the modern day equivalent of Montgomery, Alabama in 1955?

Philadelphia Area Jobs with Justice has been working to bring attention to this outrageous legislation and to bring a message of solidarity and compassion to the town's immigrant residents. On Sunday, September 3rd, Philly JwJ helped to bring more than 400 people held an interfaith vigil at Memorial Park in Hazleton. Philly JwJ focused mainly on outreach to the faith and labor communities around Hazleton, coordinating conference calls with interfaith regional leaders and organizing more than 20 Hazleton-area faith and labor leaders to attend the vigil. Philly JwJ also helped to develop materials, talked to the media, and recruited people to ride buses from Philadelphia to Hazleton.

Amongst the supporters at the rally were members of SEIU 32BJ, AFSCME Local 2187 DC47, The Sisters of Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) of Scranton, Casa Dominicana, and the Hazleton Area Latino Association. Speakers included Rabbi Michael Michlin of Hazleton?s Beth Israel Temple, Rev. Doug McKeeby of Hazelton's Trinity Lutheran Church, Rev. Pat Sullivan of King?s College, Rev. Miguel Rivera of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leadership, Anna Arias, President of Hazleton Area Latino Association, and Dr. Agapito Lopez. Participants were led through prayer and song by the coalition of interfaith representatives while Jobs with Justice organizers made connections with folks form Hazelton's immigrant community. Unfortunately, a handful of small towns across the country have begun to pass laws based on or similar to the Hazleton ordinance.

St. Louis Area JwJ has been organizing to oppose a Hazleton-like ordinance in Valley Park, MO, about 20 miles southwest of St. Louis. Long Island Jobs with Justice mobilized in response to a similar bill in Suffolk County, where county executive Steve Levy pushed through a bill to require businesses, charities, governments and others with county contracts to certify each year that their employees are eligible to work in the U.S. Although the bill was passed, JwJ and allies were able to insert a powerful anti-discrimination clause, and will challenge the bill in court.

JwJ coalitions in The ACLU and Latino Legal Defense Groups are challenging the constitutionality of the Hazleton ordinance, and the town has so far agreed to delay implementation of the law. Philly JwJ is continuing to assess the situation and is developing a strategy to move forward in the coming months.

From Jobs With Justice

The law will force businesses to fire suspected 'illegal' immigrants...

I thought they were going to be required to do verification and IF they are found to be illegal, then they would fire them.

There were signs on the front of local bars and night clubs warning local Latinos to "Speak English or Leave," and that the businesses would serve "Legals Only."

So long as they have their little sign that says, "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone."

Nobody can imagine how much I dream this could happen in Miami, but I know only in my dreams......

Some Latino city residents tell JwJ that many of their neighbors have already moved out. Three hundred workers have already been fired from the American Pork Plant and VanHoekelen Greenhouses. Latino-run businesses already report that business has declined by as much as 50% because their customers fear congregating in public areas. When the law takes effect, whole families will be forced into homelessness. The Hazleton Latino community faces being denied vital public services in Spanish such as health care and voting material. Children will be denied access to education. This is a human, civil, and worker rights crisis that is being compared to moments in the Civil Rights Era. Will this small Pennsylvania town become the modern day equivalent of Montgomery, Alabama in 1955?

That's the best news I've heard all day. That is great. Hopefully they'll keep heading South. I don't feel one bit sorry for these criminals.

Will this small Pennsylvania town become the modern day equivalent of Montgomery, Alabama in 1955?

No,No, No...... because the people being harrassed in Montgomery WERE American Citizens...big gaint size diff.....they were not illegal aliens.

Some Latino city residents tell JwJ that many of their neighbors have already moved out. Three hundred workers have already been fired from the American Pork Plant and VanHoekelen Greenhouses. Latino-run businesses already report that business has declined by as much as 50% because their customers fear congregating in public areas. When the law takes effect, whole families will be forced into homelessness. The Hazleton Latino community faces being denied vital public services in Spanish such as health care and voting material. Children will be denied access to education. This is a human, civil, and worker rights crisis that is being compared to moments in the Civil Rights Era. Will this small Pennsylvania town become the modern day equivalent of Montgomery, Alabama in 1955?

As with everything......they either extreemly overstate or understate their impact. It makes me sick.

"There were signs on the front of local bars and night clubs warning local Latinos to "Speak English or Leave," and that the businesses would serve "Legals Only." "

My Husband and I own the Bar in Hazleton that everyone keeps referring to. I've become so aggravated with the way this sign has been misquoted and used.

No where does this sign say "speak English or Leave" and it does not even say "Legals Only"

What it Does say is "ALL LEGALS SERVED"

If you want to know more, please go to our website:

http://roadsendpub.us/Ouropinion.htm

I could retype it all here......but it would really take way too long.

One more thing .....I heard that the Lawsuit that is being brought against Hazleton is being brought by an illegal immigrant. Is that REALLY true?? How can that be possible??

Welcome Laurie

If your looking for the "Update" go to the bottom of the page

The Following was is part of an article printed in the Standard Speaker concerning our sign posted on the front of the Roads End Pub:

7/28/2006 Starndard Speaker
Also referring to Hazleton in testimony was Erika M. Sutherland, a professor in Spanish at Muhlenberg College and director of an Lehigh Valley-based support group for Hispanics.

“Signs have recently appeared in a Hazleton bar saying, ‘Only legals served,’” she said. “As we can all see, the bar owner would have no way to know who is and who is not here legally. What he can see, and what he is presumably looking to avoid, are Hispanics. Is this a message we want our state to send?”
She said the nation “is in desperate need of comprehensive immigration reform, and the Congress will, I hope, continue to work toward that.” She urged the state lawmakers not to enact legislation that could be counterproductive while sending a negative message to immigrant families “that Pennsylvania does not want their work, their financial and cultural contributions and the vitality that newcomers always bring into a community.”

And this was Jimmy's response to that article:

8/11/2006 Standard Speaker
Editor,

It concerns me when someone I have never met or spoken to, makes assumptions as to the type of person I am. What is further concerning is when someone who accuses me of something that is not true, is actually guilty of exactly what they said of me.
This is in response to the news article “ ‘Slander’ – Hearing gets heated,” which appeared in the Standard-Speaker Thursday July 27, 2006. Ms. Erika M. Sutherland, a professor in Spanish at Muhlenberg College and director of a Lehigh Valley based support group for Hispanics, speaks of signs appearing in a Hazleton bar. I am going to assume she is referring to my bar, the Roads End Pub which is in West Hazleton. I don’t recall ever meeting her or any member from her group located in the Lehigh Valley, but yet she makes certain assumptions about the sign(s), which couldn’t be further from the truth.

Ms. Sutherland stated the sign reads, “Only legals served”; when in fact the sign reads ALL LEGALS SERVED. There are several reasons I elected to display this sign on the outside of my building.
First, I wanted to convey the opposite of what she has assumed I meant by the sign (“What he can see, and what he is presumably looking to avoid, are Hispanics.”), I welcome Hispanics and all and any race here in our country legally. I don’t want any illegal person in my place of business whether they are undocumented, underage, drug dealers, or forbidden to be here due to parole constraints.

Secondly, I wanted to show support to a good friend and good person, Mayor Lou Barletta. Again, anyone sitting down with Lou, would learn in short order, he wants to do the right thing, help Hazleton and its residences grow and is willing to help anyone improve their life.
We ID everyone who appears to be 30 years old or younger. This is a very strict policy we adhere to, it is not meant to single out any group of people. It is meant to keep the illegals mentioned in the above paragraph, who shouldn’t be in a bar, out of this bar.

To suggest I don’t want Hispanics in my place or I don’t like them is just plain wrong. If Ms. Sutherland took the time to call me or sit down and talk with me she would have realized this in a very short period of time. Instead what she (hopefully unknowingly) is doing is furthering the distance between legal newcomers and natives.
Our staff is expected to treat all people from all walks of life the same way, with respect. If customers don’t know the English language very well, they are taught to slow down their pace and help in anyway they can. You can ask any Hispanics who come here as well as German, Italian, Russian or any other foreign language speaking people, they are all treated with respect, or that employee wouldn’t be employed here very long.

There is no tolerance at the Roads End for racism of any type.
Three years ago, I spent about 12 weeks in South Beach Florida doing consulting work for a concern in this Industry. South Beach has a very large Hispanic population; I met many Spanish-speaking people there and developed a deep respect for these immigrants. I recommended more than 60% be employed by several companies due to their strong work ethic and their desire to make a better life for themselves and their families. At that time many were from South America working in the United States on work visas, most were applying for citizenship. It is my hope they were successful. They understood the law and the reason for doing the legal thing.

I know in my heart that one day soon these tensions will be a thing of the past. The majority of people living in this area welcome our new neighbors.
Now is the time to stop making uninformed accusations and start working together for a better Hazleton area.

Jim Christman,
Roads End Pub

What an awesome response!!!!

Now, Because I am the Webmaster of this site I every once and a while do take certain privileges, I can't help but put my 2 cents in here myself.

So, here it is.......

Hazleton is full of all different walks of life. Some good people and some bad. Just like the rest of this country, we have in Hazleton a wide range of race, religion and beliefs. We live side by side, work side by side and raise our families side by side. We are a community thriving to accomplish the American dream together and individually.

I came to Hazleton over 18 years ago because here I found peace and a friendship within this community that I felt was very unique. There were neighborhoods where the people truly cared about each other. To me, this was community that I felt comfortable raising a child within.

When I first bought a home here I began working at a local Knitting Mill called Pocono Knit on Diamond Avenue and Cedar Streets. Over the years of working there I became the Plant Supervisor with almost 150 employees. I'd have to say that almost 95% of those employees where people who had immigrated to the U.S. within a couple of years (and at times a couple of months) and began working in order to better their lives.

And I mean they worked hard!

Amilcar Arroyo, who is today, what I would consider to be one of most well known advocates of the Hispanic population within the Hazleton area, worked as a cutter at Pocono Knit and was one of the people that I was directly responsible for. What an incredible person! If you ever get a chance to get to know Amilcar, sit down and talk, you will never be sorry for taking the time.

Along with the Hispanic employees at Pocono Knit there were also a large amount of Yugoslavians, Hungarians, Romanians and Americans.

Each of these people, young and old, had to accomplish 2 major hurdles. 1st and far most....Be Legal. 2nd....learn the English language. And they did. Sometimes slowly, sometimes fast...but they did. Side by side we taught each other things that will live within us all for a life time. Languages, traditions, food (and man I gotta say REALLY good food!) insights of the Countries that they came from and insights of this Country from a different perspective. Working side by side, day in and day out, we all learned a lot about each other and the places we've been and are in now.

My point here is really to say that each of us brings to the table different thoughts, beliefs, experiences and traditions. In my mind and my past I have enjoyed sitting at that table.

Combined, living side by side, working side by side we are a United States, a United Community, and a United Neighborhood.

The one thing that we all have and hold faithfully is our laws in this land, no matter where we come from. We have all got to abide by the laws that govern us.

To sit at this table.....to enjoy being a part of this community....you must be sitting at that table Legally. To do so otherwise, you are invading what this Community and compromising what Country is all about.

So if you find yourself in Hazleton.....if you really want to know the true story of a good neighborhood....stop by....we'd love meet you.

At the same token....if you have a habit of discriminating against the Hazleton people....using whatever you can turn around, in our community, to benefit your own political agenda....keep on driving down the road.

And by the way....one more thing....

if your NOT LEGALLY here or LEGALLY able to come in to this bar...don't sit down....your not invited or welcomed.

Laurie Christman

August 31, 2006

Update

September26, 2006

WOW!!! Who would have thought this!

8:30 at night night and a Bud salesman calls Jimmy (who by the way is sick in bed with the flu) to tell him that he has to remove the sign (that They Made For Us!) from the front of the building!!

Ok....I don't get it....Budweiser doesn't mind kids under age, people on parole / probation or just with no I.D. period, drinking their product??????

This sign was ok to hang on our building for 3 months, but all of a sudden because it has attracted attention in national news (mostly distorted for their own political agenda).....all of a sudden our Bud distributor wants their Salesman to come to our bar at 8:30 at night, while on his vacation, to pull the sign off of our building!

BUT UNDERSTAND THIS.....WE WILL STILL CONTINUE TO DO THE RIGHT THING....

We will replace the sign and serve anybody that we can LEGALLY serve.

WE WILL NOT BREAK THE LAW AND WE WILL NOT BACK DOWN!!!!!

Da! lol....I didn't think about copy and paste!

Thank you for putting the page here for me!

Latino-run businesses already report that business has declined by as much as 50% because their customers fear congregating in public areas.

Serves them right, they shouldn't have built a business dedicated to serving illegal immigrants. Isn't it funny, the majority of folks doing most of the whinning are the very same folks that are financially prospering from illegal immigrants.

Has everyone noticed that most pro-illegal immigrant activist are either exploiting, pandering to (politicians), or financially prospering from illegal immigrants. Most pro-illegal immigrant advocates would have us believe that God and the need to show mercy is what drives them, but I'm not buying it. I honestly don't think most pro-illegal advocates really care about the well-being of the illegals or their families - they only care about how they can use the illegals to further a their cause or for personal gain.