HSI Hispanic News
Judge strikes down Hazleton's illegal immigrant law
By Associated Press
Jul 27, 2007, 21:28

HAZLETON Pa.
A federal judge on Thursday struck down the city of Hazleton's tough crackdown on illegal immigrants, ruling unconstitutional a law that has been emulated by towns and cities around the nation.

The Illegal Immigration Relief Act, pushed by the city's Republican mayor last summer after two illegal immigrants were charged in a fatal shooting, was voided by U.S. District Judge James Munley following a nine-day trial in March.

"This decision should be a blaring red stoplight for local officials thinking of copying Hazleton's misguided and unconstitutional law," said Witold J. Walczak, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, which represented the plaintiffs.

Mayor Lou Barletta called the decision bizarre and said he intends to file an appeal.

"This was a case where a federal judge protected the rights of anonymous illegal aliens," he told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "This fight's far from over."

Hazleton had sought to impose fines on landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and deny business permits to companies that give them jobs. A companion measure would have required tenants to register with City Hall and pay for a rental permit.

Barletta, chief proponent of the crackdown, contends illegal immigrants have brought drugs, crime and gangs to the city of more than 30,000, overwhelming police, schools and hospitals.

Hispanic groups and illegal immigrants sued in federal court to overturn the measures, saying they usurp the federal government's exclusive power to regulate immigration, deprive residents of their constitutional rights to equal protection and due process, and violate state and federal housing law.

In a 206-page opinion, Munley said the act was pre-empted by federal law and violated the plaintiffs' due process rights.

"Whatever frustrations ... the city of Hazleton may feel about the current state of federal immigration enforcement, the nature of the political system in the United States prohibits the city from enacting ordinances that disrupt a carefully drawn federal statutory scheme," Munley wrote.

"Even if federal law did not conflict with Hazleton's measures, the city could not enact an ordinance that violates rights the Constitution guarantees to every person in the United States, whether legal resident or not," he added.

Hazleton's act was copied by dozens of municipalities around the nation that believe the federal government hasn't done enough to stop illegal immigration. Munley's ruling does not affect those measures.

The city's lawyer, Kris Kobach, said there were "very serious errors" in the decision and predicted it would be overturned on appeal.

Hispanic immigrants began settling in large numbers in Hazleton several years ago, lured from New York, Philadelphia and other cities by cheap housing, low crime and the availability of work in nearby factories and farms. The city, situated 80 miles northwest of Philadelphia, estimates its population increased by more than 10,000 between 2000 and 2006.

Testimony during the trial pegged the city's illegal immigrant population at between 1,500 and 3,400.

On the Net:

ACLU of Pennsylvania: http://www.aclupa.org/

Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund: http://www.prldef.org

City of Hazleton: http://www.hazletoncity.org/

Hazleton's legal defense site: http://www.smalltowndefenders.com