A Hazleton, PA law that targeted illegal immigrants was struck down by a federal appeals court today. The law wass actually passed in 2006 but has been held up in the courts. The Hazleton, PA law also severed as a model for various laws, ordinances and resolutions around the country.
The Hazleton Law allowed for pulling the business licenses of those who hired illegal aliends. Additionally, landlords could be fined if they rented to people out of status.
The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled that the law infringed on the federal government’s exclusive power to regulate immigration. Once again the supremacy clause is the underlying cause for state and local laws to be voided.
According to the NY Times:
The appeals court in Pennsylvania found that Hazleton had clearly overstepped its bounds.
“It is of course not our job to sit in judgment of whether state and local frustration about federal immigration policy is warranted,” the judges wrote. “We are, however, required to intervene when states and localities directly undermine the federal objectives embodied in statutes enacted by Congress.”
Hazleton “has attempted to usurp authority the Constitution has placed beyond the vicissitudes of local governments,” the panel of three judges concluded unanimously.
Another appeal is planned by the city.
