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10-06-06, 10:05 am
Hazleton, PA is a former steel town of 31,000 people about 80 miles northwest of Philadelphia. In early July, Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta passed one of the most draconian anti-immigrant laws our nation has ever seen, the "Illegal Immigration Relief Act". The law will force businesses to fire suspected 'illegal' immigrants, prevent city government from providing any services in any language besides English, force landlords to evict undocumented immigrants, and require that all people living in Hazleton acquire a 'residency card.'
Mayor Barletta has lashed out against the city's Latinos due to what he cites as a rise in crime. In fact, the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports show that despite the influx of more than 10,000 immigrants in the last decade, crime has actually fallen. Since the immigrant workers have arrived, Hazleton has seen their declining economy rebound, and housing values have more than doubled.
The immigration debate has divided the town, and unfortunately Barletta's law has brought out the worst in a segment of the town?s population. A Philly JwJ human rights delegation to Hazelton found vandalized Latino businesses, graffiti proclaiming the presence of the "KKK" and condemning "spics." There were signs on the front of local bars and night clubs warning local Latinos to "Speak English or Leave," and that the businesses would serve "Legals Only."
Some Latino city residents tell JwJ that many of their neighbors have already moved out. Three hundred workers have already been fired from the American Pork Plant and VanHoekelen Greenhouses. Latino-run businesses already report that business has declined by as much as 50% because their customers fear congregating in public areas. When the law takes effect, whole families will be forced into homelessness. The Hazleton Latino community faces being denied vital public services in Spanish such as health care and voting material. Children will be denied access to education. This is a human, civil, and worker rights crisis that is being compared to moments in the Civil Rights Era. Will this small Pennsylvania town become the modern day equivalent of Montgomery, Alabama in 1955?
Philadelphia Area Jobs with Justice has been working to bring attention to this outrageous legislation and to bring a message of solidarity and compassion to the town's immigrant residents. On Sunday, September 3rd, Philly JwJ helped to bring more than 400 people held an interfaith vigil at Memorial Park in Hazleton. Philly JwJ focused mainly on outreach to the faith and labor communities around Hazleton, coordinating conference calls with interfaith regional leaders and organizing more than 20 Hazleton-area faith and labor leaders to attend the vigil. Philly JwJ also helped to develop materials, talked to the media, and recruited people to ride buses from Philadelphia to Hazleton.
Amongst the supporters at the rally were members of SEIU 32BJ, AFSCME Local 2187 DC47, The Sisters of Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) of Scranton, Casa Dominicana, and the Hazleton Area Latino Association. Speakers included Rabbi Michael Michlin of Hazleton?s Beth Israel Temple, Rev. Doug McKeeby of Hazelton's Trinity Lutheran Church, Rev. Pat Sullivan of King?s College, Rev. Miguel Rivera of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leadership, Anna Arias, President of Hazleton Area Latino Association, and Dr. Agapito Lopez. Participants were led through prayer and song by the coalition of interfaith representatives while Jobs with Justice organizers made connections with folks form Hazelton's immigrant community. Unfortunately, a handful of small towns across the country have begun to pass laws based on or similar to the Hazleton ordinance.
St. Louis Area JwJ has been organizing to oppose a Hazleton-like ordinance in Valley Park, MO, about 20 miles southwest of St. Louis. Long Island Jobs with Justice mobilized in response to a similar bill in Suffolk County, where county executive Steve Levy pushed through a bill to require businesses, charities, governments and others with county contracts to certify each year that their employees are eligible to work in the U.S. Although the bill was passed, JwJ and allies were able to insert a powerful anti-discrimination clause, and will challenge the bill in court.
JwJ coalitions in The ACLU and Latino Legal Defense Groups are challenging the constitutionality of the Hazleton ordinance, and the town has so far agreed to delay implementation of the law. Philly JwJ is continuing to assess the situation and is developing a strategy to move forward in the coming months.
From Jobs With Justice
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Joe Musician
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10/10/2006 02:45
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Google News put your story on Hazleton's Illegal Immigration Relief Act in my inbox.
The inaccuracies and outright untrue assertions contained in the story -- many in the very first paragraph -- make you appear to be an unreliable source for immigrant issue information, as well as a biased and alarmist publication.
For example, in your first sentence, you state Hazleton is a former steel town. It's actually a former coal town; no steel mill was ever located anywhere in the Hazleton area. Hazleton was a coal mining town.
Secondly, the law does not forbid city workers from providing ANY services in languages other than English. Emergency and legal services are provided in other languages.
And the law does not require that all people living in Hazleton acquire a residency card. It requires anyone who wants to rent or lease a home in Hazleton to obtain an occupancy permit from the city. (To obtain an occupancy permit, one must pay $10 and show proof of legal residency status.)
Three major errors in the first paragraph alone.
In the next paragraph, you state the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports show that crime has actually fallen in Hazleton. First, the UCRs are issued by the state police, not the FBI. Secondly, Those reports show that reported crimes and arrests in Hazleton have INCREASED over the last several years. (They also show that the percentage of reported crimes and arrests per capita have fallen.)
And name ONE bar or nightclub where this JwJ delegation found signs warning Latinos to "Speak English or leave," or that they would serve "Legals only." I'll bet you can't. Also, there was anti-Latino graffiti in town long before the law was ever proposed.
You also claim that workers have been fired from the American Pork Plant. Did you make up this place? There IS NO SUCH COMPANY, probably anywhere in the United States, and certainly not in the Hazleton area. And Van Hoecklen Greenhouses aren't even located in Hazleton. That business is located in the small borough of McAdoo, about 8 miles south of Hazleton in a different county.
All of this information (except for the disagreement over the nightclub signs) has been printed in the local media (Standard~Speaker and Times Leader newspapers - both of which have Web sites and stories archived electronically), so you really have no excuse for extremely sub-standard journalism.
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