Judge strikes down Hazleton immigrant law

[Freddie Stubbs]

Source: Harrisburg Patriot-News

A federal judge struck down the city of Hazleton's tough crackdown on illegal immigrants today, 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.

The decision will almost certainly be appealed by the city.


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.



Read more: http://blog.pennlive.com/patriotnews/2007/07/265929-judge_strikes_down_hazleton_im.html

[Penndems]

1. It's in the Inky, too:

Judge strikes down Hazleton's illegal immigrant law:

http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/state/pennsylvania/20070726_ap_judgestrikesdownhazletonsillegalimmigrantlaw.html

"The decision will almost certainly be appealed by the city." My guess is that Mayor Lou Barletta plans on taking this all the way to the Supremes.

[Alcibiades]

2. Munley does not live in Hazelton

I'd guess. I guess he lives in a neighborhood without any illegal immigrants at all, except nannies and gardeners. His class of people will always be ther to stand up for their "right" to cheap domestic help.

snip

"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.

snip

The city does not have the right to enforce laws that the feds don't bother enforcing, nor, apparently, does it have the right to pass laws of its own. So much for devolution of government authority to the levels closest to the people! What does it matter if the federal statutory scheme is cafrefully drawn, if they are not enforcing it!

If I sign a lease with false ID using a fake name, what incentive do I have to comply with its terms? I can go ahead and sublet to 10 or so of my closest friends, trash the place, let chickens and goats run around the neighborhood, get drunk daily and shout sexist and homophobic comments at my neighbors, etc. It irks me that communities have so much power, through zoning and other ordinances, to restrict the activities of people in the name of quality of life and property values, but poorer communities are not allowed to try to stop a massive influx of people who don't feel any ties to the community and whose first instinct is inevitably to trash the place.

[Sapere aude]

3. You'd rather have a bunch of homeless people on the streets I guess.

Now don't tell me you are a follower of Christ too!

[Alcibiades]

8. Heavens, no!

I think the government should use eminent domain to secure some of the many McMansions that have gone up and convert them into low-income housing. This public housing could then be used by anyone whose income is insufficient to obtain housing at a fair price locally, regardless of immigration status. A side benefit to this would be that it would be not just low-income communities who have to deal with the bad consequences of Bush's policy of limitless illegal immigration.

I don't think I've ever met any followers of this "christ" of whom you write, so I don't even know how to begin to answer that one.

[High Plains]

4. Those damned Meskins...always trashin' the place.

What a load of bigoted crap!

[SemiCharmedQuark]

5. Nah, I'm Mexican and I have chickens and goats all over my place

That guy sure got my number!

[Alcibiades]

7. In the USA, this is considered wierd

Most Americans wouldn't think of keeping chickens inside city limits. It's something we have not done since the great depression.

A word of caution-do try to keep your goats and chickens hidden when city workers are about. They do report that sort of thing.

[Alcibiades]

6. Who said anything about Mexicans?

I have no doubt that Mexico is a fine and clean place. Firstly, I didn't write anything about Mexicans. I have no problem with Mexicans, Mexican-Americans, or any other race, creed, religion or color, except born-again Protestant fundamentalists. I've dated Hispanic women, and would have no problem marrying one, or if my kid came to me and said he wanted to marry someone, male or female, of any race. I live--by my choice--in a community that has had thousands of illegal immigrants move here. I'm not frightened of change, and there have been some benefits for the community. But, by and large, there have been a lot of problems as well, problems that don't go away simply because you think they are the result of my supposedly bigoted imagination.

What I wrote is that, if you move to a place with fake documentation and no ties to the community, you might not treat the town you live in, or the house/apartment you rent, the same as if you signed a lease with your legal name.

If you have a frat house next door to you, it might not be the most desirable circumstance. Most folks recognize this. Having a dozen or so unrelated young men who like to drink and do all the other things young men like to do can be a problem. It's no different with young illegal workers: the main difference is that there's no college administration to call if things get rowdy, no parents paying tuition. Same beer bottles, but the labels are in Spanish.

How are the things I observe with my own two eyes the result of bigotry? I'd be only too happy if pig carcasses and whatnot didn't turn up on the side of the road on my street, but they do. The illegal aliens who have moved into my neighborhood have no local connections, no long-term commitment to this community. That's the rationale I cite for their behavior. I don't assume they act this way because it's in their nature. I assume that they don't treat this town the way they treat their own towns.

I'm a pretty well-traveled person, I've been a foreigner. I had no real expectations one way or the other before thousands of illegal aliens came to this community. Diversity is good. Yet I don't care if it's a military barracks or a frathouse: large numbers of unrelated young men living together is a problem in our community, there's the same drunken macho bullshit. I didn't make it up, and certainly had no prior expectation it would work out that way.

Of course, rich people don't have to live with this sort of thing. They can seal themselves off in their gated communities. Plus, they get the bonus of feeling good about themselves by calling other folks bigots merely for describing what's going on in their own neighborhood. Which was, in part, what I was trying to say about the judge in this case. You live in any town in America, and there's all kinds of laws about where your dog can poop or what color your house can be. How is restricting residency to legal residents any different?