Whither Hazleton?
Because we here at the PLB are, oddly enough, interested in litigation that occurs in and/or affects the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, it's time to take a brief peek at the events unfolding in Hazleton. But for the otherwise-sleepy locale's recent foray into immigration policy, Hazleton would perhaps remain best defined as a city somewhere in the vicinity of Scranton. Prior to current events, my only knowledge of Hazleton was derived from the fact that its name is featured on roadsigns at the I-81/I-78 split north of Harrisburg. If you want I-81 North, you want Hazleton.
Today, however, Hazleton is best known for the "Illegal Immigration Relief Act," which was adopted by the city's five-person council (on a 4-1 vote) in July of 2006. Under the law (or is it an ordinance?):
landlords would face $1,000 fines for every illegal immigrant found renting their properties and businesses who employ illegal immigrants wouldn't be given licenses.
In late 2006, United States District Judge James Munley enjoined enforcement of the IIRA pending trial on the merits. Trial in Lozano v. City of Hazelton began this week.
Obviously, the issues in the case are, from a political perspective, rather fraught and this is not the place for delving into politics. Suffice to say that, in addition to other garden variety federal and state counts (e.g. due process, equal protection, Fair Housing Act, landlord/tenant, etc.), plaintiffs allege (.pdf) the IIRA is unconstitutional as an intrusion into the federal government's exclusive dominion over immigration polciy, i.e., a violation of the Supremacy Clause. The city counters that Congress has expressly recognized a role for municipalities in immigration enforcement. Apart from constitutional considerations, both sides dispute the need for, and potential effectiveness of, the new law. It is on these latter, less obviously relevent, issues that the first week of trial has principally focused.
Because the PLB is a scrupulously non-partisan endeavor, the parting links even-handedly represent parties and interests on both sides of the "v.": Weighing in for the plaintiffs, the Pennsylvania ACLU and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense & Education Fund are providing regular updates on the case. Small Town Defenders -- a blog/aggregator operated under the banner of Hazelton Mayor Lou Barletta -- and Digger's Realm both hold a brief for the city and are closely following events.
