Posted on 09/08/2006 6:24:28 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
HAZLETON, Pa. - The City Council gave tentative approval Friday to an overhaul of an anti-illegal-immigration law considered to be one of the nation's toughest, hoping to put the measure on sounder legal footing.
Like the version it will replace if granted final approval Tuesday, the new ordinance punishes businesses that employ illegal immigrants and landlords who rent to them.
The revisions, however, remove much of the burden that had been placed on businesses. They soften penalties, give landlords and businesses time to correct violations and leaving it to city officials to verify workers' immigration status with the federal government.
Since the council adopted the original law in July, many municipalities around the nation have approved or considered similar measures.
Last week, the city of 31,000 residents agreed not to enforce the original law after the American Civil Liberties Union and Hispanic groups sued in federal court to overturn it. In return, the plaintiffs agreed not to seek an injunction against the city.
Under the agreement, Hazleton must give the plaintiffs at least 20 days' notice before it begins enforcing the replacement law — enough time for the ACLU to head back into court to try to stop it.
David Vaida, a civil rights lawyer who also sued the city, said the new ordinance has the same flaws as the old one.
"It is pre-empted by federal law. The United States has exclusive and sole jurisdiction over immigration," he told the council.
Witold J. Walczak, legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, predicted that the law will exacerbate tensions in the city by encouraging neighbors to inform on one another.
"The neighbor and co-worker snitching system will almost certainly exacerbate the polarization in the community based on race, ethnicity and national origin," he said.
Mayor Lou Barletta, however, said the law specifically forbids the city from investigating any complaint based solely on a person's ethnicity or race.
It is not clear how many illegal immigrants live in Hazleton, about 80 miles northwest of Philadelphia, but the city's Hispanic population has soared in recent years. Barletta, who proposed the ordinance after two illegal immigrants were charged with shooting and killing a man, has said the new law has already spurred many illegal immigrants to leave the city.
Vice President of the Hazleton Area Latino Association Agapito Lopez (C) speaks during an immigration prayer vigil in Hazelton, Pennsylvania, September 3, 2006. Officials in Hazleton on Friday strengthened a local law designed to drive illegal immigrants away in a bid to defend the measure against legal challenges. (Tim Shaffer/Reuters)
Whoops, dere 'tis....the ol' ACLU jumpin' in to interfere with the LOCAL peoples' rights and legislation.
United States Constitution, Article I, Section 8
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
United States Constitution, Amendment X
Figured this would happen. I hope Hazelton decides for fight the ACLU on this. I predict they'll win. Maybe not the first time but somewehere up the line on appeal.
This wave is coming. This is a clear example of how the illegal invader problem is BEING solved: By use of the 10 th Amendment. People are not waiting for Washington to do anything. People know all too well that Washington can't help so they are doing things the traditional American way: They are doing for themselves!
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