Judge Rules Against Hazleton's Crackdown On Illegal Immigration
By Tom Fitton
August 1, 2007
Illegal immigrants and their special interest groups got a helping hand on Thursday from U.S. District Court Judge James Munley, a Clinton appointee, who ruled unconstitutional two Hazleton, Pennsylvania, laws designed to crack down on illegal immigration. The judge issued a permanent injunction preventing the City of Hazleton from enforcing the Illegal Immigration Relief Act and the Landlord Tenant Ordinance, which were intended to prevent businesses from hiring illegals and landlords from renting to them.
Judicial Watch believes Judge Munley is wrong on this issue. In March, Judicial Watch filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the City of Hazleton. Here, in a nutshell, was our argument:
"...The City of Hazleton has found it both reasonable and necessary for the public health and welfare to exercise its police power by enacting [these ordinances]...The subject matter regulated -- the employment and harboring of persons 'not entitled to lawful residence in the United States, let alone to work here -- is certainly within the mainstream of [the City of Hazleton's] police power...'"
The U.S. District Court, however, sided with the illegals and their special interest allies. Hazleton Mayor Louis Barletta, the architect of the law, will now appeal the ruling.
Mayor Barletta should be commended for his courage in taking on the illegal immigration crisis. At a time when many local officials are taking the easy way out by providing sanctuary to illegals, Mayor Barletta chose to enforce the law. In February, we were fortunate to have Mayor Barletta join our panel discussion entitled, "Local Government and Illegal Immigration," which was held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Here, in his own words, is why he decided to fight this battle:
"Every time we answer a domestic incident, our police, every time we answer a nuisance call, every time there's a traffic accident involving illegal aliens, it takes police away from their patrols. Every time we send a code enforcement officer, every time we send a health officer, every time we send a fireman involving an incident with illegal aliens, it drains the City's resources and we realized we needed to do something...
"I could no longer wait for the Federal Government to do anything. Illegal Immigration is not a federal problem. It's a local issue. We deal with it every single day...So we crafted an Ordinance that would do one of two things. It would punish businesses that hire unlawful workers because it is illegal to hire unlawful workers. We also punish landlords and hold them accountable for harboring illegal aliens because it is illegal to harbor illegal aliens."
To most Americans, this would seem a completely logical response to the federal government's failure to secure the borders. In fact, according to a recent Zogby poll commissioned by Judicial Watch, 72% of likely voters believe local law enforcement officers should help enforce federal immigration laws, including 40% of Hispanics and 55% of self-described political "liberals." Unfortunately, Judge Munley did not see it that way. And now we've got to hope the appellate court overturns this unjust decision.
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