HAZLETON Pa.
A federal judge on Thursday struck down the city of Hazleton's
tough crackdown on illegal immigrants, ruling unconstitutional a law that has
been emulated by towns and cities around the nation.
The Illegal Immigration Relief Act, pushed by the city's Republican mayor last summer after two illegal immigrants were charged in a fatal shooting, was voided by U.S. District Judge James Munley following a nine-day trial in March.
"This decision should be a blaring red stoplight for local officials thinking of copying Hazleton's misguided and unconstitutional law," said Witold J. Walczak, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, which represented the plaintiffs.
Mayor Lou Barletta called the decision bizarre and said he intends to file an appeal.
"This was a case where a federal judge protected the rights of anonymous illegal aliens," he told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "This fight's far from over."
Hazleton had sought to impose fines on landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and deny business permits to companies that give them jobs. A companion measure would have required tenants to register with City Hall and pay for a rental permit.
Barletta, chief proponent of the crackdown, contends illegal immigrants have brought drugs, crime and gangs to the city of more than 30,000, overwhelming police, schools and hospitals.
Hispanic groups and illegal immigrants sued in federal court to overturn the measures, saying they usurp the federal government's exclusive power to regulate immigration, deprive residents of their constitutional rights to equal protection and due process, and violate state and federal housing law.
In a 206-page opinion, Munley said the act was pre-empted by federal law and violated the plaintiffs' due process rights.
"Whatever frustrations ... the city of Hazleton may feel about the current state of federal immigration enforcement, the nature of the political system in the United States prohibits the city from enacting ordinances that disrupt a carefully drawn federal statutory scheme," Munley wrote.
