Font Size

U.S. & World

E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

Pa. Town's Illegal Immigrant Crackdown Protested

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

Recipient E-mail:*
- Your Name:*
- Your E-mail:*
Add a Message:
Send me a copy of this e-mail.

Type the characters in this picture:*

Click here to refresh with new letters

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

Print Share + Comments

Sep 3, 2006 8:11 pm US/Eastern

Pa. Town's Illegal Immigrant Crackdown Protested

HAZLETON, Pa. (AP) ―

Click to enlarge 1 of 1: Lou Barletta, mayor of Hazleton, Pa., is facing criticism for his town's crackdown on illegal immigrants. (File)
AP

Close

numSlides of totalImages

Pennsylvania City Poised For Immigration Crackdown
(6/19/2006)
Suits Allege Competitors Hire Illegal Immigrants
(8/22/2006)
Romney: U.S. Needs Skilled Immigrants
(8/20/2006)
Pro-Immigration Mom, Son Seek Sanctuary At Church
(8/16/2006)
Study: Immigrants Not Hurting U.S. Jobs
(8/10/2006)
Thousands March For Immigrant Rights In Chicago
(7/20/2006)

About 300 people, many from Philadelphia and other parts of the state, rallied Sunday in opposition to the city's crackdown on illegal immigrants.

Some carried signs with slogans such as "We The People Includes Everyone" and "The Only People Who Weren't Immigrants Are Native Americans" as they listened to religious and civic leaders speak.

"This ordinance does not include only Latinos," organizer Dr. Agapito Lopez told the crowd. "Many people who are not Latinos will be without jobs if this becomes law."

Hazleton, a city of about 31,000 residents, approved one of the toughest laws of its kind in the United States in July. The law imposes $1,000 fines on landlords who rent to illegal immigrants, denies business permits to companies that give them jobs and makes English the city's official language.

The city agreed Friday to delay enforcing the law after the American Civil Liberties Union and Hispanic groups filed suit. Mayor Lou Barletta said the city is working on a replacement ordinance that he believes will better stand up in court.

The Rev. Miguel Rivera, president of the Washington, D.C.-based National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leadership, said his members came to represent local illegal immigrants who could not protest because they feared arrest.

"We are here for what is just and what is moral," Rivera said.