Judge rejects Pennsylvania city's immigration law

HAZLETON, Pa. — A federal judge on Thursday struck down Hazleton's tough anti-illegal-immigration law, ruling unconstitutional a measure that has been copied across the country.

The city's Illegal Immigration Relief Act sought to impose fines on landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and deny business permits to companies that give them jobs. Another measure would have required tenants to register with City Hall and pay for a rental permit.

Based on testimony from a nine-day trial held in March, U.S. District Judge James Munley ruled that the act was pre-empted by federal law and would violate due-process rights.

"The genius of our Constitution is that it provides rights even to those who evoke the least sympathy from the general public," Munley wrote in his opinion. "Hazleton, in its zeal to control the presence of a group deemed undesirable, violated the rights of such people, as well as others within the community."

Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta said he intends to appeal.

"Sadly, today's decision sends the wrong message to elected officials in Washington and elsewhere," he told reporters outside City Hall. "We, the American people, want our cities secured, our borders protected and our citizenship respected. This battle is far from over."

Hazleton's act was copied by dozens of U.S. municipalities that believe the federal government hasn't done enough to stop illegal immigration. Munley's ruling does not affect those measures, although most of them had been put on hold pending the outcome in Hazleton, according to the plaintiffs' lawyers.

Barletta, a Republican, had pushed for the strict law last summer after two illegal immigrants were charged in a fatal shooting. He argued that illegal immigrants brought drugs, crime and gangs to the city.

Hispanic groups and illegal immigrants in Hazleton sued, denouncing the measure as racist and divisive.

"It is a bittersweet victory," Anna Arias, president of the Hazleton Area Latino Association, said Thursday. "It is sad in the sense that we should be spreading love and unity, and not hatred and division as this has created. This has divided the community."

Spending bill passes, exceeds Bush requests

WASHINGTON — The Senate passed the first of 12 spending bills on Thursday night, smashing President Bush's budget for border control and other homeland-security programs.

The $40.6 billion measure passed by an overwhelming 89-4 vote, as Bush's GOP allies joined with Democrats to flout his veto threat.

The already popular bill became more so with the addition of $3 billion above budget caps set by both Bush and Senate Democratic leaders to secure the U.S.-Mexico border and crack down on people who overstay their visas.

The bill also greatly exceeds Bush's request for homeland-security grants to state and local governments for improving disaster planning and training, ensuring that first responders can communicate with each other via radio, and paying for new fire and rescue equipment.

A similar, slightly less expensive homeland-security spending bill has passed the House.

The Associated Press and Reuters