Posted on 07/14/2006 1:01:53 PM PDT by Oshkalaboomboom
Hazleton, Pa., creates one of the strictest laws in the U.S., polarizing its whites and Latinos.
Standing outside City Hall in the gathering dark, Norman Tarantino felt, for once, that he was lucky to live in Hazleton.
Most of his friends had moved away, over the years, convinced that the old coal city's best days were behind it. But as of Thursday night, Tarantino said, Hazleton once again has something to be proud of: It is the most hostile environment in America for illegal immigrants.
Not 20 feet away stood Daniel Jorge, a Dominican immigrant who moved his family to Hazleton last year after 25 years in New York City. Jorge, a real estate agent, was wondering how he would break the news to his wife, who had been enchanted with the small-town friendliness she found in Hazleton, a small city in the hills 80 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
"I'm sad. I loved it here," Jorge said. He gazed at the police officers lined up in the middle of Church Street, separating crowds of white and Latino demonstrators. "I never in my wildest dreams thought I would see this here in this city."
By a vote of 4 to 1, Hazleton's City Council on Thursday approved the Illegal Immigration Relief Act, which imposes severe penalties on landlords who rent space to illegal immigrants, suspends the licenses of businesses that employ them, and declares English the city's official language.
The ordinance has brought celebrity status to Hazleton's mayor, Louis Barletta, and has prompted a ripple of proposed new laws in neighboring communities.
In Florida, the communities of Avon Park and Palm Bay will vote on similar laws, as will the city of Escondido in California.
The law has also attracted a legal challenge from the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
That has to be the most nakedly biased reporting I've seen since . . . well . . . CBS's latest news broadcast.
just doing the legislating the Senate is unwilling to do.
"Not 20 feet away stood Daniel Jorge, a Dominican immigrant who moved his family to Hazleton last year after 25 years in New York City. Jorge, a real estate agent, was wondering how he would break the news to his wife, who had been enchanted with the small-town friendliness she found in Hazleton, a small city in the hills 80 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
"I'm sad. I loved it here," Jorge said. He gazed at the police officers lined up in the middle of Church Street, separating crowds of white and Latino demonstrators. "I never in my wildest dreams thought I would see this here in this city."
Dude....cry me a freakin' river.
Perhaps you should have waited in line and applied legally.
It's about time someone did something like this.
Pinger!
To Daniel Jorge. Are you a legal immigrant, is your wife? If not JSTFU.
I'm not disagreeing with the intentions of the law but this is the first thing that came to mind. I don't think they have jurisdiction over this.
Most Americans don't give a darn what race you are, or where you are from.
However, when you are in this country illegally and expecting handouts while flaunting your illegal status, it tends to rub people the wrong way.
What is really mind boggling is the attitude these people have toward Mexico. For some reason, they seem to think the US should become like Mexico. Well, if they think well enough of Mexico to want to transform the US why not go back to Mexico? After all, it's already just what they want......
I bet the lady who wrote this piece doesn't ask herself can I own property in their homeland? Can I demand that their government put up signs in English? Can I walk into a hospital and get taken care of with no bill? Can I demand a bilingual voting ballot in their homeland? Can I get social security benefits where they come from? Can I even be in their country without documentation and not get thrown in jail?
Who are the white racist pigs?
"She had better get used to it, people are sick of their towns being overrun by illegals and they aren't waiting for the Feds to do something about it."
-------
I place that vast majority of the blame on the shoulders of Washington, DC. A dysfunctional mess of twisted politics that is grid-locked by self-interest, self-empowerment and to hell with America who is being forced to pay the bills for their malfeasance.
This situation is gonna get alot uglier, again because of a government that is more interested in its own preservation, than in the job of running America and supporting its laws and soverignty.
I know its an old drumbeat, but what part of illeagal does Gorge not understand? If he is legal, he has no worries; unless, as a realtor, his rentals may become vacant. If that's the case, he's not concerned about this country and where it's headed but his ill-gotten gains renting to illegal aliens.
Hazleton PA: The most hostile environment in America for illegal immigrants.
Sounds like a great place to be.
The Latinos (who are American citizens) should not be against this. illegal immigration, whether from Latin America or other regions, should not be encouraged.
"The law has also attracted a legal challenge from the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund"
Fascinating to see if it gets anywhere.
Prop 187 was cast off by a judge in the mid1990s and as a result Cali was not able to get a handle on its illegal immigration issue.
One key argument against these kinds of restrictions is the fact that landlords, like employers, have no real way of knowing who is illegal and who is not and so it becomes an invitation to either fraud or discrimination. That's not sufficient reason to consider these unconstitutional, however, but there are Federal laws on the books that forbid asking about immigration status in certain cases ... the Federal Govt could help by eliminating those restrictions.
Joe Arpaio is kicking himself for not thinking of it first.
"Dude....cry me a freakin' river.
Perhaps you should have waited in line and applied legally."
Who says he didn't ? ... certainly not this news report ...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.