HAZLETON – Mayor Louis Barletta on Friday signed into law what is believed to be the toughest ordinance targeting illegal immigrants in the country. That was probably the easy part.
Over the next 60 days, the city has to figure out how it will make every person renting a home or apartment in Hazleton prove their citizenship or immigration status. It will also beef up its code enforcement division, which will enforce the law, and possibly seek help from federal officials on how to distinguish between legal and illegal immigrants.
How much will it cost? Who knows, Barletta said.
“Obviously, in the beginning, there will be a lot of work to check all the tenants in the city, but then it will become an ongoing program as people come and go,” Barletta said. “I think it will be effective, and other cities will try to replicate this.”
The new Illegal Immigration Relief Act, which will fine landlords $1,000 a day for knowingly renting to illegal immigrants and revoke the business licenses of those who employ them, won’t be enforced for 60 days and opponents have vowed a legal challenge. But already it has changed the atmosphere in this coal town, which has seen explosive population growth fueled by an influx of Hispanics.
News vans and satellite trucks circled City Hall on Friday. Barletta’s secretary, Cherie Homa, ordinarily fields calls from residents upset about potholes and stray garbage cans. But on Friday, the interview requests poured in from CNN, Fox News and “The O’Reilly Factor.”
Barletta has found a national audience in his war against illegal immigrants, who he says overcrowd schools and hospitals and drain limited government resources.
Amilcar Arroyo, president of the Spanish-language newspaper El Mensajero, said there have been more important changes since the ordinance was introduced than making a low-profile town more visible. He described a disturbing scene outside city hall on Thursday night, when a line of police separated Hispanic demonstrators opposed to the law and white people who support it.
“That is what (Barletta) created: division,” Arroyo said. “He opened the door to hate and opened the door to people saying, `We don’t want you here.'”
While Barletta envisions copy-cat ordinances sweeping through the country — and they already are in Florida and California — Arroyo predicts a voter backlash. Hispanic voters will energize and there is talk of having Hispanic candidates run for City Council, Arroyo said.
“Hispanic people have to understand they have to register to vote because that’s the only way to get politicians to hear and respect our views,” he said. “This is a challenge for the Hispanic community because this is our home.”
The debate in Hazleton could turn into a national legal fight.
The Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund and the Pennsylvania American Civil Liberties Union will file a lawsuit to overturn the ordinance, most likely in federal court, arguing that immigration law is the domain of the federal government, said Allentown attorney David Vaida, a representative of the legal defense fund.
He questioned the city’s ability to enforce the ordinance.
“How will they administer this? Can you possibly expect landlords to have to wait for the tenant to get occupancy permits to be presented to them?” Vaida said. “And what do you show them, a driver’s license? Anything more would be an intrusion. This is insanity.”
Barletta said landlords did not oppose the ordinance because the city would be doing the background checks. And the business community did not raise any concerns about the ordinance, said Donna Palermo, president of the Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce.
“I have 725 members, and I have not had one call (about the ordinance),” Palermo said. “It has not been an issue for our membership.”
European settlers lured by jobs in coal mines built Hazleton, which has become a magnet for Hispanics fleeing New York City in the aftermath of Sept. 11, attracted by affordable housing and jobs in nearby industrial parks.
A stroll through the downtown reveals how cultures co-exist. Hispanic-owned groceries, restaurants and beauty salons with signs in Spanish line Wyoming Street. Red banners hanging from lamp posts say, “Welcome to Hazleton,” but area Latinos say they’ve felt unwelcome since the ordinance was introduced.
Resident Felicia Ramos shopped for milk and melons at the Hazleton Food Supermarket, which has signs in Spanish for its clientele. She is against the ordinance.
“The Hispanic people have been good for the Hazleton economy by buying and renovating houses and opening businesses,” she said. “There are people who mess it up for Hispanics, but that happens in all races. Most of us are here to better ourselves for the future.”
Down the street, Don Esposito walked out of Vesuvio’s pizzeria. He said Hispanics should not feel singled out if they are here legally.
“Illegal is illegal,” he said. “They weren’t just picking on Hispanics. The rules are the rules.”
Barletta defended his ordinance, saying small cities feel the burden of illegal immigrants more than larger cities and action is needed to stem the flow.
“I did this for the citizens of Hazleton, and I’ve been watching our quality of life be destroyed,” he said. “The people of Hazleton don’t want to hear someone in Washington is working on it.”
But Arroyo said he expects the ordinance will be overturned through legal channels and the Hispanic influx will continue.
“I’m sorry to see what has happened,” he said. “Hazleton will survive. More and more Hispanics are coming to buy homes and open businesses, because, despite a few guys who don’t like diversity, it’s a nice place.”