Hazelton, PA, Doesn’t Want to Be an Illegal Immigrant Melting Pot

By Mark Hoerrner

Illegal immigration is an issue that has been a hot topic in American government for several years but has been brought to the surface more often during the rise of the Republican Party nearly 8 years ago. It’s a divisive issue that has some citizens calling for an end to America’s "Melting Pot" mentality, preferring a more isolationist stance in the light of terror events during the last 10 years.

In Hazelton, Penn., city leaders want to stem the flow of illegals into their town, largely because of a couple of high-profile crimes in which a 29-year-old man was murdered and a child fired a gun on a playground. Now the issue will be tried in court.

"This is the day we've been waiting for a long time," Hazelton Mayor Lou Barletta told the Associated Press outside the courthouse Monday. "Small cities can no longer sit back and wait for the federal government to do something."

The town passed the Illegal Immigration Relief Act, which stands to impose fines on landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and would deny business permits to anyone who uses illegal immigrant labor. Another measure up for contention requires tenants to register with City Hall.

Since Americans seem to have trouble telling one Latino from another, Puerto Ricans in the area feel the laws would create an air of harassment. As Puerto Ricans are American citizens, they don’t want to be rousted every time a landlord is raided in pursuit of illegals, nor do they feel that they should have to register tenancy, said Cesar Perales, president of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund.

"People feel harassed and hassled by this ordinance," he told the Associated Press.

He further stated that the ordinances would pit neighbor against neighbor and not reduce the city’s demand on public resources such as law enforcement overtime, but actually increase it. With police having to respond every time a citizen believes his or her neighbors to be illegal, it’s possible the new measures could have just the opposite effect the town is hoping for.

In supporting documents, Hazleton officials said illegal immigrants have committed at least 47 crimes since April, severely taxing the small city police budget. Illegal immigrants in Hazelton were also responsible for one-third of the city’s drug-related offenses, city officials said.

Barletta said that the city has also faced a strain on education and healthcare resources, as illegals tend to rely on free public services and have no insurance.

"If they are here, the federal government tells me I have to educate them, to provide for their well-being," Barletta said. "Our social services were designed to care for our poor citizens, not the poor of other countries who don’t want to abide by our laws."

The bench trial is expected to last two weeks.