by Steve Carlson
Hazleton, Pennsylvania's fight against illegal aliens has been dealt a setback by a federal court. On Tuesday the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania issued a temporary restraining order preventing the city from enforcing the Illegal Immigration Relief Act ordinance. Enacted by the Hazleton city council last summer, the law is designed to prevent illegal aliens from working or residing in Hazelton.
In a 13-page ruling, federal Judge James M. Munley stated the attorneys representing plaintiffs had shown that "irreparable harm" would be done to aliens if the ordinances took effect. Munley ignored the harm necessarily done to a White community by a substantial Mestizo presence.
Under the law, which had been scheduled to take effect today, the city was to begin registering every tenant living in a rental unit. To obtain a rental permit, residents would have to verify their immigration or citizenship status, just as individuals hired to work in the United States must furnish proof a legal right to work here.
Other provisions of the law would allow the city to close businesses that hire illegal aliens and allow legal employees to sue the businesses for employment lost during closures due to violation of the law.
According to The Citizens Voice, attorney Thomas Wilkinson argued for the plaintiffs that "some Hazleton residents would be unjustly forced from their homes and jobs if the ordinance took effect. Some of his clients named in the suit, he argued, are legally in the United States but may not have the proper documentation to prove it...
Landlords would have to evict tenants whose documentation could not be verified, even if they are in the United States legally, or face heavy fines, he argued. Because the ordinance does not allow ample opportunity for appeal, he said, the ordinance is unconstitutional for violating rights of due process and equal protection.
The law, passed by the city council in July and revised in September, is seen as a template for similar laws passed by 10 other towns around the country, according to the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, one of the groups that has joined in a lawsuit challenging the measure....
Another hearing will be held before Nov. 14 to decide whether to extend the ban on enforcing the ordinances. At that time, Munley could forbid Hazleton from enforcing the ordinance until a final ruling in the case is made, potentially delaying enforcement for several more months."
Self-styled "civil rights" activists have estimated that roughly a quarter of Hazleton's foreign-born population is in the United States illegally. Aliens--mostly from Central America--account for about a third of the town's 31,000 residents.
Hazleton, Pennsylvania's fight against illegal aliens has been dealt a setback by a federal court. On Tuesday the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania issued a temporary restraining order preventing the city from enforcing the Illegal Immigration Relief Act ordinance. Enacted by the Hazleton city council last summer, the law is designed to prevent illegal aliens from working or residing in Hazelton.
In a 13-page ruling, federal Judge James M. Munley stated the attorneys representing plaintiffs had shown that "irreparable harm" would be done to aliens if the ordinances took effect. Munley ignored the harm necessarily done to a White community by a substantial Mestizo presence.
Under the law, which had been scheduled to take effect today, the city was to begin registering every tenant living in a rental unit. To obtain a rental permit, residents would have to verify their immigration or citizenship status, just as individuals hired to work in the United States must furnish proof a legal right to work here.
Other provisions of the law would allow the city to close businesses that hire illegal aliens and allow legal employees to sue the businesses for employment lost during closures due to violation of the law.
According to The Citizens Voice, attorney Thomas Wilkinson argued for the plaintiffs that "some Hazleton residents would be unjustly forced from their homes and jobs if the ordinance took effect. Some of his clients named in the suit, he argued, are legally in the United States but may not have the proper documentation to prove it...
Landlords would have to evict tenants whose documentation could not be verified, even if they are in the United States legally, or face heavy fines, he argued. Because the ordinance does not allow ample opportunity for appeal, he said, the ordinance is unconstitutional for violating rights of due process and equal protection.
The law, passed by the city council in July and revised in September, is seen as a template for similar laws passed by 10 other towns around the country, according to the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, one of the groups that has joined in a lawsuit challenging the measure....
Another hearing will be held before Nov. 14 to decide whether to extend the ban on enforcing the ordinances. At that time, Munley could forbid Hazleton from enforcing the ordinance until a final ruling in the case is made, potentially delaying enforcement for several more months."
Self-styled "civil rights" activists have estimated that roughly a quarter of Hazleton's foreign-born population is in the United States illegally. Aliens--mostly from Central America--account for about a third of the town's 31,000 residents.
