Hazelton, PA is not really making any NEW laws , merely wishing to enforce existing one's regarding an illegal alien's immigration status.
Curiously enough, Stop The ACLU agrees with the ACLU's stand, offering that not every little city should be making one law after another to muddle the waters.
Bullshit. Read the following, then hie thee to STACLU to be amazed at what bilgewater the RINOS's there are awash with.
Guess it had nothing to do with religion, so STACLU cannot lend it's support. Typical chickenhawks.
ALLENTOWN, Pennsylvania Hispanic groups and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Monday against a small city that has sparked national attention over its immigration policies, setting the stage for a legal battle over its crackdown on illegal immigrants. The ordinance, approved by the Hazleton City Council last month, imposes fines on landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and denies business permits to companies that give them jobs. The law empowers the city to investigate written complaints about a person's immigration status, using a database operated by the federal government. Lawyers for the ACLU and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund and other groups planned to ask a federal judge for a temporary restraining order to prevent enforcement of the law, set to begin Wednesday. "Immigration reform is an important issue but if every little town like Hazleton across the 50 states makes up their own rules about immigration, we're going to be left with an even bigger mess," said Witold J. Walczak, legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania. Hazleton's ordinance has spurred dozens of copycat versions in small towns around the United States, as the illegal immigration issue has become a key campaign debate as the country heads into congressional elections next week. Some states and communities are accusing the government of inaction. President George W. Bush signed last week a law that approves partitioning 700 miles (1,125 kilometers) of the U.S. from Mexico. Bush wants a guest worker program, but he has been met with tough resistance from his own Republican Party. A bill passed by the U.S. Senate would have allowed immigrants to remain and eventually become citizens after working, paying fines and back taxes and learning English. The House of Representatives approved a separate bill that focused on enforcement measures such as subjecting those in the U.S. illegally to to felony prosecution. The House and Senate did not meet to negotiate a compromise before recessing for the elections. The legislation Bush signed was a small portion of the House version. In its lawsuit, the ACLU said the Hazleton ordinance and a companion measure violate the Constitution because they step on the federal government's exclusive power to regulate immigration. Mayor Lou Barletta, disagreed, saying, "We are not regulating immigration in any way." Barletta, who spearheaded the town law, contends illegal immigrants have brought drugs, crime and gangs to the city, overwhelming police and municipal budgets. He announced the crackdown in June, a month after two illegal immigrants from the Dominican Republic were charged with shooting and killing a 29-year-old man. Barletta said he is convinced the law will be upheld by the courts and the city has assembled a legal team to defend it. "Hazleton is prepared to fight and we will take this challenge to the highest court in the United States if that's what it takes to protect our legal citizens and quality of life," he said. Hazleton, a city of about 31,000 residents, is about 80 miles (130 kilometers) from Philadelphia."
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