A federal judge yesterday overturned a Pennsylvania city’s law cracking down on illegal aliens in a major test case for localities hoping to fill the gap left by the federal government’s failure on immigration enforcement.
Judge James M. Munley said Hazleton, about 80 miles northwest of Philadelphia, stepped on Congress’ toes by passing its own strict requirements for businesses to check employees’ legal status and for landlords to check tenants’ status.
“Whatever frustrations officials of the City of Hazleton may feel about the current state of federal immigration enforcement,” Judge Munley wrote, “the nature of the political system in the United States prohibits the city from enacting ordinances that disrupt a carefully drawn federal statutory scheme.”
In a 206-page opinion the judge, a 1998 nominee of President Clinton, also said the Constitution is designed to protect “those who evoke the least sympathy from the general public.”
“Hazleton, in its zeal to control the presence of a group deemed undesirable, violated the rights of such people, as well as others within the community,” the judge wrote.
It is the first challenge to a local ordinance to go through a full federal trial, and Foster Maer, a lawyer for the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, which joined the American Civil Liberties Union in suing, called the judge’s ruling “a body blow” to those counties and cities looking at similar laws.
“We hope that this decision will give pause to all the other localities out there who, frustrated by the lack of actions at the federal level, think they should be able to take over immigration policy,” he said. “They cannot. This decision makes that clear.”
Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta said the city will appeal. “This fight is far from over. I have said it many times before: Hazleton is not going to back down,” he said.
“As we have seen over the past week or so, both in Hazleton and around the country, illegal immigration is a very important issue to many, many Americans,” Mr. Barletta said. “Sadly, today’s decision sends the wrong message to elected officials in Washington and elsewhere.”
Sen. Barack Obama, Illinois Democrat and a White House hopeful, injected the issue into the presidential race, calling the ruling “a victory for all Americans.”
“The anti-immigrant law passed by Mayor Barletta was unconstitutional and unworkable — and it underscores the need for comprehensive immigration reform so local communities do not continue to take matters into their own hands,” he said.
The city estimates its population jumped from 23,000 in 2000 to 33,000 in 2006, with a large part of that increase coming from people who left New York or New Jersey after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Many of those new arrivals are Hispanic.
Mr. Barletta pushed for the new law after two illegal aliens were charged with murder after a shooting last year. Though the charges were later dismissed, Mr. Barletta, a Republican, argued illegal aliens cost his city money in services and led to an increase in the crime rate.
Judge Munley said the federal government has to strike a balance with its own enforcement efforts — something Hazleton ignored. The judge also said Hazleton’s ordinance was drawn so broadly it would apply in some cases to aliens legally in the country on asylum or who have obtained a humanitarian parole.
Earlier this year, Judge Munley had ruled that some of the plaintiffs in the case could remain anonymous and would not have to testify in court, saying those “John Doe” plaintiffs had a reasonable fear of retaliation from those who supported the town’s ordinance.
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