Illegal means "Illegal"
The city of Hazleton, PA passed a law which will impose stiff penalties on employers and landlords of illegal aliens, aka tresspassers. Let's remember that the key word here is Illegal.
In the WAPO story we learn that Hazleton has decided to take the issue seriously.
The act imposes a $1,000-per-day fine on any landlord who rents to an illegal immigrant, and it revokes for five years the business license of any employer who hires one...
AND
[Mayor Louis J. Barletta] has received 9,000 favorable e-mails and has raised thousands of dollars for the city's legal defense on a Web site called Small Town Defenders.
Go Louis, Go!
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As an aside, I see how some who support this illegal activity could draw a parallel to the past when small towns devised laws to keep black people out of their cities. This is simply not the same. In this case, Hasleton, PA has imposed penalties on activities which are already illegal.
There is no violation of civil rights, because the fines target citizens who provide support for illegal activity. These illegal activities are being commited by people who have no legal right to be in the country. There is no parallel here. Black victims of the past were citizens being excluded without relationship to whether they had already broken the law.
The struggle is not the same. We must restist those who say that it is.
Labels: Immigration
posted by BeeJiggity @ 8:38 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Uh-oh, watch out...liberal on the premises. :)
Don't you think this has the potential to increase discrimination against ethnic minorities?? For example, why would a landlord in Hazleton want to rent to anyone who appears foreign? Easier just to rent to 'Americans' and not be subject to a potential fine. I'm afraid MANY 'foreigners' who are citizens or legal residents will be discriminated against as a result of laws like this.
Parlancheq,
First off, I love liberals. Just not their ideology. You know, free speech and all that jazz!
Nothing stops mean people from being mean people. Because of the fair housing laws on the books today, a landlord has to be careful not to be descriminatory in practices. I think it would be best to ask about citizenship on the rental application.
Maybe they might even want to try a SS#? Not too tough there, huh?
Anyone who really is here legally can prove it, and this helps protect the citizens of Hazelton keep the laws of the United States.
Again, the key word here is "illegal."
OK, I agree it would be easy enough to ask. In fact I think landlords often ask for SSN because they can use it to do a credit rating. But would the landlord's obligation end with just asking and the tenant saying yes they are a citizen? The $1000/day fine is pretty harsh and I can imagine landlords not wanting the hassle if they could just rent to an "American." (Even though there are laws intended to prevent discrimination, it still happens!) Also, some landlords are not very savvy. For example, my landlord is an elderly lady with just two apartments. She couldn't even grasp the concept of a lease; I can't imagine her knowing much about immigration documents.
Phew, that was a long comment! :)
Just as an employer with a workforce of one is required to pay SS tax, and the landlord must report rental income, it is only reasonable to expect proof of legal residency.
And why are you concerned about discrimination? In an environment like this, those who discriminate, and those who rent to illegals loose.
It is a 'win-win' for law abiders.
I like to feel concerned about discrimination. It makes me feel righteous. ;)
But I'm not sure that in this case those who discriminate lose. They just rent exclusively to 'Americans' and probably never get called out for discriminating. (It's pretty hard to document rental discrimination.) The people who are the real losers are those who looks/sounds foreign, but are here legally. They are not the target of the legislation, yet they would probably be the target of discrimination under the law.
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