HAZLETON, Pa., Nov. 19, 2006
Welcome To Hazleton
One Mayor's Controversial Plan To Deal With Illegal Immigration
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Play CBS Video Video Kroft On Pa. Mayor's Action "60 Minutes" correspondent Steve Kroft talks to Mike Wuebben about the action Hazleton, Pa.'s Mayor Lou Barletta took on illegal immigration in his town.
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Video freeSpeech: Lou Barletta Hazleton, Pa., Mayor Lou Barletta got tired of waiting for the federal government to act on illegal immigration, so, as he says in tonight's freeSpeech, he took his own action.
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Video Hazelton's Immigration Battle Steve Kroft reports on one Pennsylvania mayor's controversial plan to deal with illegal immigration.
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Mayor Lou Barletta (CBS)
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Interactive Immigration And Naturalization Who's coming to America? Find out what's being done to screen for terrorists and take a citizenship quiz.
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Fast Facts United States of America Learn about the people, economy and history.
The people Kroft talked to at the Blue Comet Diner, and most of the people he spoke with in Hazleton, thinks it’s a great idea.
"Someone who’s here illegally, you know they’re breaking a law," one woman told Kroft.
"I believe Mayor Barletta is on the cutting edge of a new societal revolution that may be the forerunner for changing something very important in America," another woman said.
Versions of the Hazleton ordinance are now being debated all over the country with immigration reform groups offering financial and legal backing. Eleven cities from Riverside, N.J. to Farmer’s Branch, Texas, have passed similar laws and they are under active consideration in more than 30 communities.
"Hazleton is the first of these. It's not the last. And we're gonna fight them everywhere where they're enacted," vows Lucas Guttentag of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Guttentag is one of 24 lawyers from three civil rights groups, five private law firms, and three charitable organizations and businesses that have filed suit in Scranton asking the federal courts to have the law overturned.
"The ordinance that's been enacted by Hazleton is unconstitutional. It's counterproductive. It's contrary to federal law. It's gonna lead to discrimination and divisiveness in that community, and it's not within the power of local governments to enact these kind of ordinances," he tells Kroft.
Guttentag says the ordinance violates fair housing and civil rights acts that prohibit racial and ethnic profiling. And that under the Constitution, immigration policy is the sole responsibility of the federal government; cities and states can’t just come up with their own programs. Mayor Barletta, who has his own team of outside lawyers, including a former immigration advisor to former Attorney General John Ashcroft, says that’s not what Hazleton is doing.
"We're not involved in immigration in any way. We're not regulating people coming in and out of the country. In fact, we're not doing anything to the illegal alien. We're simply punishing businesses that hire them and landlords who rent to them," Barletta says.
But Guttentag says one of the problems is that these ordinances are incapable of distinguishing between so-called legal and so-called illegal immigrants and that they don’t have that capacity.
"Their argument is, Hazleton isn’t gonna be making the decision on who is legal and who is illegal. That’s going to be done using a federal database from the immigration service and their computers," Kroft tells Guttentag.
"Well that is what they say, but that’s not possible. And we know that’s not possible there is no such federal data base," he replies.
The ACLU argues that immigration laws are extremely complicated and that the information in the government computers that Hazleton plans to use to determine whether an immigrant is legal or illegal is not only incomplete, but inaccurate 20 percent of the time. He believes innocent people are going to lose their jobs and be thrown out of their homes with no opportunity to appeal.
"You get evicted first. You get terminated first. You get suspended first. And then you can try to contest that? That's not the federal system is set up. But that's what the Hazleton ordinance does. It punishes first and asks questions later," Guttentag argues.
A federal judge has temporarily stopped the law from being enforced until its legality is decided in court. But Mayor Barletta would argue it’s already working. Many illegal immigrants who have been willing to do the kind of jobs others in Hazleton were not, have already gone.
Produced By Janet Klein
©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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See all 443 Comments"We have been hitting them were they hurt in florida. If they don't have jobs they move on. If you see or know were an illegal works do the following: We are now also clueing in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to all suspected illegals that work, plus their employers if we know of them. The IRS takes very unkindly to the employers especially that seek to evade taxes by paying cash for daywork type labor, which is common at construction sites, lawn services and some factories.
Their fraud/criminal investigations number is 1-800-829-0433 nationwide. USE IT. They can be more effective than the INS in many cases and will do the investigative work, then if they uncover illegals will contact the INS who will come in at the end, make the arrests and take the credit.
The employers however usually can't run and they take the big hit, in the wallet..."
http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2006/11/11/news/111206bzillegalscourt.txt
www.americanpatrol.com
Also, Mexico is not a poor country--they have oil, natural gas, silver, and miles and miles of coastal property. The problem with Mexico is the lawlessness and corruption. These people need to go back to their own country and fight for rights/benefits. The US and US citizens do not owe them anything. Their only rights are to be treated fairly and humanely until they are deported back to their own countries.
The real issue is poverty-level wages, our troubled health care system, and poverty in Mexico. It just happens that today the poorest are immigrant Hispanics. A century ago, the issues were similar, but instead of Hispanics, it was Italians, Irish, Jews, Poles, etc.
A decade ago, Hazleton and Pennsylvania chose to bring in all these poverty-level jobs, but they're unwilling to accept the consequences of that decision. It's a shame that Steve Kroft did not point out any of this.
David Lambert
San Jose, California
Tancredo: McCain, Giuliani would be disastrous for GOP
'I will do everything I can to make sure those 2 names are not the only options'
PALM BEACH, Fla. %u2013 With political junkies looking ahead to the 2008 presidential race, two of the names often mentioned as leading contenders for the GOP nomination %u2013 John McCain and Rudy Giuliani %u2013 are being called "disastrous" for the Republican Party by Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo.
"Both of those individuals, of course, would be disastrous for us for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is their position on immigration, which is to open the border," Tancredo told WND in an exclusive interview. "I will do everything I can %u2013 whether I'm a candidate for president or just as a member of Congress %u2013 I will do everything I can to make sure those two names are not the only options that people have."
Tancredo, the author of "In Mortal Danger" championing the need to secure America's borders and enforce immigration laws, says he is getting closer to his own run for the presidency, calling it a "distinct possibility."
http://www.saveourstate.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=19389
SECURE THE BORDERS. BUILD THE WALL NOW! ENFORCE THE LAWS ON THE BOOKS. CUT OFF ALL PUBLIC BENEFITS/SERVICES, AND SENDTHEM PACKING!
Basically people who don't want to be Americans, and who don't want to
live by American values and understand them, well then, they can basically clear out "IMMIGRANTS, NOT AMERICANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am
tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual
or their culture.."
"This idea of American being a multicultural community has served only
to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity. As Americans we
have our own culture, our own society, our own language and our own lifestyle."
"This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials
and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom"
"We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, become legal Americans , learn the language and work hard for freedom
Hopefully American citizens will find
the backbone to start speaking and voting the same truths!!
Here is a great link to read numerous articles/stories about Bush's hardworking illegal invaders and their "family values" that don't stop at the Rio Grande.
http://www.americanpatrol.com/REFERENCE/FamilyValuesLink.html
The politician who has and is doing this is Tom Tancredo, of Colorado. He helped to expose Bush's plan of the North American Union. Even though he is Republican, he is hated by Bush, Rove, and all others who support Bush and his agenda.
Are hopes for 2008 would be Tancredo and either of the following: Jeff Sessions, Sensenbrenner, Barletta, or Jim Gilchrist.
Tancredo had said that he would run if it still appeared that our government was letting this invasion and takeover occur. Let's hope that we hear about his political run real soon.
In the meantime, here are two really good books:
In Mortal Danger by Tom Tancredo
The Minutemen by Jim Gilchrist and Jerome Corsi
Also, stay on top of all issues/articles regarding the illegals by going through this site:
www.americanpatrol.com
Who cares what they think/feel once belonged to them, we will fight to the end their attempt at this invasion. Legal US citizens are not going to sit back silently and let this invasion and takeover occur. This is our country--which belongs to legal US citizens--illegal invaders have no rights in our country. They are citizens of Mexico, therefore, Mexico owes them rights and benefits not us.
Why don't you go to Mexico to live, as being a citizen of the US does not seem to mean anything to you.
And as far as "GO BACK TO ITALY" it just shows your ignorance. Not once have I said that to anyone because I know we were all immigrants at one point in time. And what is happening now isn't what happened 60 or 70 years ago regarding this issue. I do not care what nationality people are just come here legally is that so hard to understand?
What planet do you live on? Please educate yourself regarding the cost to citizens of this country who are supporting the ilegals. And please learn to spell.
Just a couple of points for you...you want them called "undocumented" instead of "illegal"? How about we call them "Trespassers" instead? The definition of trespass is "a wrongful entry upon the lands of another". And I for one can not think of a better explanation of what is happening. And just for the record, trespassing has both civil and CRIMINAL laws, so they are criminals.
The second point is about Sgt. David Jimenez Almazan. Using him as an example does nothing to support your points. For instance, he was a legal permanent resident which means he was not an 'undocumented' immigrant as you like to call them. This country knew who he was, where he came from and his intentions. The other big thing you should have taken from his story is that he LOVED America. So much so that he willingly fought and ultimately died for it. He came to this country and embraced us as his own nation. I don't think that most of the people that have commented here have ANYTHING against Mexicans like Mr. Almazan. In fact, I'm sure most of us would love to have more people like him around.
So many people have turned this into a race issue, but the last time I checked, a person's legal status does not put them in any specific race. This is an issue about right and wrong. It is right to follow the laws of the country and it is wrong to knowingly break them.
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT who have given us nothing but blown smoke over the issue of protecting our borders!
What is it going to take before the government understands how serious the general public is in the desire to stop the flow of illegal crossings?
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