Hazleton Anti-Immigrant Ordinance Ruled
Unconstitutional

By H. Nelson Goodson
El Conquistador Newspaper
3206 W. National Ave.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53215

conquistador@bizwi.rr.com

July 26, 2007

 

Hazleton, PA- On Thursday, the fate of Hazleton's
Illegal Immigration Relief Act came to a close
when U.S. District Judge James Munley ruled the
ordinance is unconstitutional. The ordinance
sought to impose fines on landlords who rent to
illegal immigrants and deny business permits to
companies that give them jobs. It was considered
as one of the most harshest City ordinances
against undocumented immigrants in the United
States.
Other cities like Green Bay, Wisconsin, and in
Prince Williams County, Virginia, which have
enacted similar ordinances also could now be
ruled unconstitutional. The Hazleton ruling has
set a precedent. If the Hazleton ruling is
appealed, it could end up in the U.S. Supreme
Court. The Supreme Court ruling could concur with
Judge Munley's decision.
Judge Munley concluded in his 206 page opinion,
"Whatever frustrations officials of 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. Even if federal law did not conflict with
Hazleton's measures, the City could not enact an
ordinance that violates rights the Constitution
guarantees to every person in the United States,
whether legal resident or not. The genius of our
Constitution is that it provides rights even to
those who evoke the least sympathy from the
general public. In that way, all in this nation
can be confident of equal justice under its laws.
Hazleton, in its zeal to control the presence of
a group deemed undesirable, violated the rights
of such people, as well as others within the
community. Since the United States Constitution
protects even the disfavored, the ordinances
cannot be enforced...We cannot say clearly enough
that persons who enter this country without legal
authorization are not stripped immediately of all
their rights because of this single act . The
United States Supreme Court has consistently
interpreted [the 14th Amendment] to apply to all
people present in the United States, whether they
were born here, immigrated here through legal
means, or violated federal law to enter the
country," concluded Judge Munley.
In a press release Thursday the ACLUPA responded,
"We are grateful the court recognized that
municipal laws like those in Hazleton are
unconstitutional. The trial record showed that
these ordinances are based on propaganda and
deception," said Vic Walczak, Legal Director of
the ACLU of Pennsylvania and a lead attorney in
the case. "Hazleton-type laws are designed to
make life miserable for millions of immigrants.
They promote distrust of all foreigners,
including those here legally, and fuel xenophobia
and discrimination, especially against Latinos."

The lawsuit was filed by Pedro Lozano, Humberto
Hernandez, 
Rosa Lechuga, Jose Luis Lechuga, John Doe 1, John
Doe 3, John Doe 5, John Doe 7, Casa Dominica of
Hazleton, Hazleton Hispanic Business Association,
the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of
Pennsylvania, the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and
Education Fund, the Community Justice Project and
the law firm of Cozen O'Connor.
ACLUPA case link: http://www.aclupa.org/issues/immigrantsrights/hazleton/

    
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