National News: Hazelton, Pa., ruling defines immigration as federal issue

Jul. 27, 2007

Hazleton, Pa., is like a lot of cities in the United States. It is conflicted about an influx of workers, mostly Latino, many of whom are not in the country legally, nor authorized to accept the jobs that have drawn them.

Last year, Hazleton’s City Council decided it could drive such immigrants away by fining landlords who rent to them, and by suspending the business licenses of the companies that hire illegal immigrants.

But Thursday, a federal court sent a strong message that immigration is a federal issue, and the Pennsylvania city’s laws in question were unconstitutional and unenforceable. >>read full article