Editor,
If illegal immigration is an issue for the federal government to deal with, why is Mayor Lou Barletta of Hazleton, Pa., taking matters into his own hands?
It is interesting to note that Barletta will be running for Congress in the upcoming election. Barletta gained national media attention with imposing the strictest immigration acts in the country. In 2006, he passed the Illegal Immigration Relief Act, which punished landlords with $1,000 fines for renting out properties or businesses that housed or employed illegal immigrants.
Barletta claims illegal immigrants have raised the crime rate and are diminishing the quality of life for the legal citizens of Hazleton. This act not only prevents undocumented immigrants from residing in Hazleton, but also creates a racist environment toward all Latinos, documented and undocumented. Landlords and business owners will now fear renting out their premises or employing Latinos because of the fine. They could be fined for each undocumented immigrant who slipped through the cracks of the system, one way or another.
In addition to the racist environment Barletta has helped mold in Hazleton, there are no facts or statistics that back up his claim that illegal immigrants are a direct reason why crime rates have risen. On the contrary, statistics show crime rates in relation to the population in Hazleton has come down since the Hispanic population has risen. Barletta has no proof that the crime rate of Hazleton has risen or that the quality of life has diminished since the Hispanic population in Hazleton has gone up.
He also admits to not knowing how much of the Hispanic population is undocumented. What baffles me most, though, is that above all, immigration laws are drafted and passed by the federal government. Immigration is an issue that is dealt with on a national level and not at the city level. Barletta is taking federal matters into his own hands and gaining national attention for it. It is an attempt to put pressure on the federal legislatures to do more about undocumented immigrants who come into the U.S.
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It is not necessary to go to the extreme and impose racism through laws. Immigration is a delicate issue, and creating laws that lead to racism is not a way to handle the problem. Barletta needs to ease off the racism and not use the fight against illegal immigration as the highlight of his campaign. There are other issues that deserve more attention, such as the war in Iraq.
Susanna Marquez
UNM student
