US judge rules town's anti-immigrant laws unconstitutional

FE Team | Published: July 28, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

NEW YORK, July 27 (AFP): A US federal judge Thursday ruled that a small town's efforts to crack down on illegal immigrants were unconstitutional, in a blow to similar laws adopted across much of the United States.
Judge James Munley ruled that Hazleton, a town of some 30,000 people in rural Pennsylvania, did not have the right to enact a law punishing businesses for employing illegal immigrants or landlords for renting them property.
The Illegal Immigration Relief Act was adopted last year, but has been in limbo ever since due to legal challenges posed by civil rights activists.
"Federal law prohibits Hazleton from enforcing any of the provisions of its ordinances," Munley wrote in his 206-page decision.
Since 2000, Hazleton's population has swelled from 23,000 to an estimated 30-33,000, fed largely by an influx of Latino families, many from the New York and New Jersey areas, seeking affordable housing and better-paid jobs.
Hazleton's Republican mayor Louis Barletta reportedly accused illegal immigrants of "destroying the city," and said he wanted Hazleton to be "one the most difficult places in America for illegal immigrants."
But Munley said Barletta had overstepped his authority.
Ever since Hazleton passed its law last year, dozens of towns across the United States have sought to introduce similar legislation. It was unclear immediately how Thursday's ruling would affect other laws.
The Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform immediately welcomed the ruling as a victory for the rule of law, fairness and equality.
"This ruling sends a clear message that the Hazleton ordinance, and other similar anti-immigrant laws around the country, are unconstitutional and will not be allowed to stand," the group's campaign manager Clarissa Martinez said.
Meanwwhile: The US Senate Thursday voted overwhelmingly to pour three billion dollars into border security measures, following the collapse of a sweeping
immigration reform drive last month.
The money will be used to hire and train 23,000 more border security agents, build 700 miles (1,125 kilometers) of fencing and procure new patrol vehicles for use along the US frontier with Mexico.
The measure was offered as an amendment to a huge Homeland Security bill, and was adopted by a margin of 89 votes to one.
Its author, South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, said the measure could make it easier to eventually move on to the fate of 12 million illegal immigrants left in limbo by the failure of immigration reform.
President George W. Bush's signature immigration reform bill crashed down in the Senate on June 28, largely due to fierce opposition to its provisions, dubbed an "amnesty" for illegal immigrants by conservative Republicans.