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On the Books: Easy, breezy reading that’s fit for the whole family

Backloaded schedule could benefit Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

I write in response to the Times Leader&#8217;s editorial of June 9, regarding the ordinance to combat illegal immigrants passed while I was mayor of Hazleton in 2006. As the old saying goes, the Times Leader is entitled to its own opinion, but not its own facts.The editorial claims I was fighting the &#8220;swelling immigrant population&#8221; of Hazleton at the time, because of the burden it placed on the city&#8217;s budget. This is factually inaccurate. As opponents of the ordinance often do when making their arguments, the word &#8220;illegal&#8221; has been omitted. This requires that I restate once again that we were combating illegal immigration &#8211; addressing only those who had broken our laws.The editorial further argues that it was wrong of Hazleton to require landlords to verify the citizenship status of people who rented properties. The ordinance did nothing of the sort. The Illegal Immigration Relief Act was clear that only the federal government &#8211; and not the landlords &#8211; can verify the immigration status of individuals, a provision intended to eliminate the possibility of discrimination.The Times Leader opinion page quoted itself from a previous editorial decrying the &#8220;patchwork of regulations that vary widely from place to place.&#8221; I agree with that sentiment, and wish that the law could be uniform nationally. However, it is the federal court system that has given us the patchwork, not localities such as Hazleton as the editorial argues. Our efforts gave rise to similar laws in other states. Today, 16 states covered by the 8th and 9th Circuit Courts of Appeals can enforce their laws, while Hazleton &#8211; in the 3rd Circuit &#8211; cannot. The Supreme Court should step in to provide guidance nationally.The excessive legal fees awarded to the plaintiffs in the Hazleton case are certainly of great concern to the city. The army of 36 lawyers employed by the American Civil Liberties Union during the proceedings served to tremendously inflate their alleged costs. Especially in light of the validation of similar ordinances in other jurisdictions, I believe the fees were wrongly awarded in the first place.As a parting shot, the editorial warned us to &#8220;be very careful when you try to slam shut the door to outsiders.&#8221; Again, a correction for the record is in order. Hazleton&#8217;s population had grown by 50 percent, but our tax revenue had stayed the same. What we were doing in Hazleton was attempting to stem the flow of illegal immigrants, and no one else.Lou BarlettaCongressmanHazleton

Letter to the Editor: Hazleton’s Illegal Immigration Relief Act misrepresented by editorial