Posted on 07/31/2007 8:47:42 AM PDT by SwinneySwitch
A federal judge cast the bright light of reality into the immigration issue last week when he ruled that cities have no place in deciding who is legal or illegal. The ruling found unconstitutional the ordinances written by the leaders of Hazleton, Pa., a small town that has become a model for towns wanting to take the law into their own hands. The ruling came as a reminder that though Congress has failed to take responsible action on immigration, the job of writing immigration law can't be usurped by local government.
The ordinances in Hazleton were meant to punish landlords who rented to undocumented immigrants and to deter employers from hiring immigrants who couldn't prove they were American citizens. In general, the ordinances were meant to signal that the Pennsylvania town was no place for immigrants and those who supported immigrants. But this case was about more than just sweeping away discriminatory laws; it was about stopping xenophobia from being codified into municipal laws. Hazleton has grown from a city that only had a small percentage of Hispanic residents to one that now has a Hispanic population of about a third. The change has left many older residents unsettled and fearful, which led to the enactment of the ordinances. That cultural change is common among the other communities that have enacted similar ordinances to ones that were passed in Hazleton. The message in each case was simply that change was unwelcome to a segment of the population.
But just because some long-time residents were uncomfortable with their new neighbors didn't mean that the due process clause of the Constitution had been neutralized. Judge James M. Munley wrote in his ruling that all persons, even illegal immigrants, have a right to due process under the law and the Hazleton ordinances denied them that right.
The point, Munley wrote, is that only Congress has the right to determine who should immigrate into the country, not city governments.
Congress has tried twice to write a comprehensive immigration law that will address the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants in the country and twice failed. But it doesn't get to pass that job to some other government. Immigration is a federal job and Congress must come to grips with it.
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That slimy, sleazy, creepy bunch in Washington knew what they were doing in killing the Kennedy-Bush-McCain Illegal Alien Amnesty Bill. They knew that eventually Americans would become complacent and busy with the task of just trying to survive and pay the taxes which feeds the House of Lords, the “Representatives” and the Administration. They knew that incrementally they could achieve what generated such a firestorm.
The Bush Administration and its henchmen like Alberto Gonzales, has no intention of enforcing the law of the land and protecting America from foreign invaders and American citizens from attacks by foreign invaders. They will continue to look th other way while Mexico violates our national sovereignty.
As for the “party of opposition” - the Rats, they have more brains than the Repubs. They will ALSO look the other way, hoping and KNOWING that these invaders will reproduce here and then vote Democrat in the national elections.
A writ of impeachment should be brought against the President and the Congressional Leaders - even if it has no legal standing - and a “trial” held holding up to public scrutiny their joint failures to protect, preserve and defend the United States of America and its Constitution from a sea of foreign invaders.
Perhaps that will generate enough steam for GRIP in November (Get Rid of Incumbent Politicians).
Please check out my about page. It's too long but it can't be helped.
Xenophobia?
Check out THRO (Throw the Rascals Out!)in the 90s.
I expect that GRIP would be equally effective.
Would this judge consider the DEA's inability to completely stem the flow of cocaine into this country to imply Congressional intent to allow cocaine into the country? Should a state consult with Columbia before passing laws against cocaine possession?
“The ruling came as a reminder that though Congress has failed to take responsible action on immigration, the job of writing immigration law can’t be usurped by local government.”
This is incorrect on its face. The immigration law is already written! What Hazleton tried to do was figure out a more efficient way of implementing and enforcing it - and protecting their CITIZENS.
It is all your fault, Hazletonians, because you did not like your ‘new neighbors.’ Just ignore the fact that they are here illegally, using services paid for by your tax money, and bringing with them a culture of crime and corruption. It’s not your town anymore. It is THEIRS. So shut up and like it!
How long will we put up with this???
The situation has long been bad enough out here in California, but now that it’s happening in every little town across the country, I am hoping we will get some action. I hope Hazleton appeals. (I have sent money to help them do so.)
"The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government,
1. The act of invading; the act of encroaching upon the rights or possessions of another; encroachment; trespass.
QUISLING: a synonym for traitor, someone who collaborates with the invaders of his country.
The yahoo that wrote this article would be pleased, I’m sure, if the shoe was on the other foot and a jillion of us “Anglos” were illegally entering the country of his ancestors and demanding this and demanding that. (yeah, right).
It galls the h@ll out of me that these illegals and their liberal and RINO enablers have more rights, privileges, perks, and benefits than the ordinary taxpayer in the US who is the one the government determines must keep paying the taxes that benefit these leeches. It is a real slap in the face not only to the native born of the USA, but an even worse slap to the good people that immigrate LEGALLY to the USA, following all the rules and obeying the law.
Obviously this writer is an anti-American Illegalphile.
There is a law passed in the 1970s that allows Hazelton to enact such laws like they did. The law is still valid, and the judge did not rule that law unconstitutional. Hazelton will win on appeal.
This is just the anti-American illegal alien agenda trying to break American communities from enforcing citizenship laws.
Now, one way all local governments can enforce no-illegal laws is to require all employers to pay employees at the local market wage. By enforcing local market wage....employers would lose $$ incentive to hire illegals...while illegals really would have no legal recourse (unless the ACLU sues, based on grounds that “illegals have a right to be paid less than Americans”...wouldnt that sound racist)
Sad, isn’t it. But the net was as popular back then.
Your tagline says it all.
Hunter and Tancredo are the only Repubs worth fighting for.
From what I've read, the ordinances were not DEFINING who is and isn't illegal, simply stating that those who cannot document the fact that they are here legally, will be considered illegal and these ordinances apply to them. It's not deciding who is and who isn't legal, just that those who are illegals will not have the benefits that LEGAL immigrants do.
The ordinances don't say anything about LEGAL immigration, only ILLEGAL immigrants.
:) Both of them are right on when it comes to the two biggest hot-button issues I have: 1) Stop the illegal alien invasion and secure our borders; 2) Support Israel and stop playing footsie with the blasted “palestinians”. I don’t care which one is Pres/VP, I just want them to w-i-n!
Very good!
This is incorrect on its face. The immigration law is already written! What Hazleton tried to do was figure out a more efficient way of implementing and enforcing it - and protecting their CITIZENS.
Good point...I stand corrected.
“Judges on Crack”
“A lot of them are so arrogant, they think theyre better than us and entitled to EVERYTHING.”
This is where the danger is! They will cause trouble before they leave.
Nick Jimenez, Idiotorial editor of the Corpus Crawler-Times.
Due process?
The author and the judge are illiterate. The feds HAVE decided and the cities are using those federal decisions.
This is not about local governments making decisions, this is about local governments RELYING on federal decisions.
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