Mayor Lou Barletta confirmed the City of Hazleton will appeal latest ruling.
Federal court of appeals reaffirmed U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania 2007 ruling that the Hazleton ordinance was unconstitutional
September 9, 2010
Philadelhia, Pennsylvania (HNNUSA) – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU-PA) announced that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit today issued a sweeping decision striking down as unconstitutional the city of Hazleton's law that would punish landlords and employers who are accused of renting to or hiring anyone the city classifies as an "illegal alien."
The case, Lozano v. Hazleton, has been closely watched across the country because the Hazleton ordinance (Hazleton's Illegal Immigration Relief Act) has served as a model for similar laws nationwide and was challenged by civil rights groups in a lengthy trial. The suit has been underway for more than four years in the federal district and circuit courts. Today's unanimous appeals court decision is the latest legal victory against discriminatory state and local laws that target immigrants and invite racial profiling against Latinos and others who appear"foreign." Many cities like Fremont, Nebraska and Summerville, South Carolina have voluntarily tabled or blocked these laws under legal pressure and local opposition.
City of Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta confirmed that the city plans to appeal the latest decision striking down once again the Illegal Immigration Relief Act adopted by Hazleton in 2006.
Hazleton adopted its first anti-immigrant ordinance in August 2006. A civil rights coalition including the ACLU, the ACLU of Pennsylvania, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, the Community Justice Project and the law firm Cozen O'Connor immediately filed a lawsuit challenging the law on behalf of Hazleton residents landlords and business owners. Today's ruling upholds a July 2007 ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania concluding that the Hazleton ordinances were preempted by federal law governing immigration.
"Hazleton's discriminatory law decimated a town that used to be bustling with life and commerce," said Vic Walczak, Legal Director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania and a lead attorney in the case. "Divisive laws like these destroy communities and distract from the very real problems that local governments are facing across the country. Immigration reform needs to come from the federal level. Local ordinances like these have a toxic effect on the community, injecting suspicion and discriminatory attitudes where they didn't previously exist."
During the trial, Hazleton officials claimed that undocumented immigrants were responsible for bankrupting the city, driving up healthcare costs and increasing local crime. In fact, the evidence at trial showed that from 2000-2005, Latino immigrants actually helped to transform a huge city budget deficit into a surplus, that the private hospital system made a $4 million profit and that the crime rate actually fell.
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Federal court of appeals reaffirmed U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania 2007 ruling that the Hazleton ordinance was unconstitutional
September 9, 2010
Philadelhia, Pennsylvania (HNNUSA) – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU-PA) announced that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit today issued a sweeping decision striking down as unconstitutional the city of Hazleton's law that would punish landlords and employers who are accused of renting to or hiring anyone the city classifies as an "illegal alien."
The case, Lozano v. Hazleton, has been closely watched across the country because the Hazleton ordinance (Hazleton's Illegal Immigration Relief Act) has served as a model for similar laws nationwide and was challenged by civil rights groups in a lengthy trial. The suit has been underway for more than four years in the federal district and circuit courts. Today's unanimous appeals court decision is the latest legal victory against discriminatory state and local laws that target immigrants and invite racial profiling against Latinos and others who appear"foreign." Many cities like Fremont, Nebraska and Summerville, South Carolina have voluntarily tabled or blocked these laws under legal pressure and local opposition.
City of Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta confirmed that the city plans to appeal the latest decision striking down once again the Illegal Immigration Relief Act adopted by Hazleton in 2006.
Hazleton adopted its first anti-immigrant ordinance in August 2006. A civil rights coalition including the ACLU, the ACLU of Pennsylvania, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, the Community Justice Project and the law firm Cozen O'Connor immediately filed a lawsuit challenging the law on behalf of Hazleton residents landlords and business owners. Today's ruling upholds a July 2007 ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania concluding that the Hazleton ordinances were preempted by federal law governing immigration.
"Hazleton's discriminatory law decimated a town that used to be bustling with life and commerce," said Vic Walczak, Legal Director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania and a lead attorney in the case. "Divisive laws like these destroy communities and distract from the very real problems that local governments are facing across the country. Immigration reform needs to come from the federal level. Local ordinances like these have a toxic effect on the community, injecting suspicion and discriminatory attitudes where they didn't previously exist."
During the trial, Hazleton officials claimed that undocumented immigrants were responsible for bankrupting the city, driving up healthcare costs and increasing local crime. In fact, the evidence at trial showed that from 2000-2005, Latino immigrants actually helped to transform a huge city budget deficit into a surplus, that the private hospital system made a $4 million profit and that the crime rate actually fell.
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