Malena Amusa

Hazleton city immigrant ordinances, unconstitutional

Federal judge struck down local ban on the hiring and housing of undocumented immigrants, but the reporter in this clip gives the xenophobic Mayor way too much credit.

The Applied Research Center’s action newsletter reported:

Last week, a federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled that ordinances passed in Hazleton city that sought to prevent undocumented immigrants from living and working were unconstitutional.

The city’s attempt to become the “toughest city in America for illegal immigration” is similar to those by local governments throughout the country to address issues around immigration through vigilantism. Hazleton’s mayor enforcing the “rules”, Louis Barletta and grandson of an immigrant, stated he will not back down, and that this fight “isn’t about ethnicity” but “about legality.”

Of course it’s not Mayor, we all know that this isn’t just another xenophobic attempt to use immigrants as scapegoats for the city’s, and the nation’s, socioeconomic problems?

Immigration is, after all, a federal issue and immigrants legal or not, are still afforded basic human rights by the constitution. Perhaps Mr. Barletta would know that had he not fallen asleep in government class all those years ago.

One step for immigrant-kind, a leap, not yet….

Posted at 11:57 AM, Jul 31, 2007 in Permalink | View Comments