Towns take aim at illegal immigration
Oren Dorell
USA TODAY
Aug 14, 2006
Lou Barletta says illegal immigrants are overfilling schools in Hazleton, Pa., cramming local health clinics and overrunning the playground where he once played basketball.
Barletta, mayor of the city of 22,000 south of Wilkes-Barre, says illegal immigration is "destroying small towns" that don't have the budget to deal with the influx.
So Barletta proposed a law that fines landlords for renting to illegal immigrants and punishes employers for hiring them. The City Council passed the measure, and Barletta signed it into law last month. To implement it, Barletta wants to require renters to go to City Hall and obtain a permit assuring landlords that they are in the USA legally. That would require a background check with the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Barletta says that even though the law isn't in effect yet, it's having an impact: "People are leaving daily."
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