Presidential Candidates Refuse Hazelton Mayor On Illegal Immigration 

by Jeffery Barker

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 21, 2008

Washington is closing its eyes to the problems of illegal immigration on this nation and small towns, and so, too, are the presidential candidates, according to Hazelton, Pennsylvania Mayor Louis Barletta in a recent CSPAN interview.[1]

Many times I have invited all three presidential candidates to come to Hazelton and see the devastation and difficulties faced by small towns from illegal immigration but they all refuse to come and address these issues, said Barletta. That really worries me, he said.

The impacts to small towns and the quality of life from illegal immigration is devastating, he said. "As long as people leave the word 'illegal' out of this debate, we will never fix these problems, he said.

Approximately 10% of Hazelton's residence are illegal immigrants, said the mayor.

Among the ill effects he mentioned were:

People want to live by the rule-of-law. Since Hazelton started its new ordinances protecting American families from illegal aliens, the city has seen many benefits. Remarkably, the strongest gains where seen in the Hispanic community where from 26 to 30 Hispanic owned businesses have come into Hazelton since the ordinance began.

Some of the more remotely known issues mentioned by the mayor as well. For example, one criminal alien who had been caught selling cocaine on a local playground had 5 different Social Security cards and false I.D.s. It took police over 5 hours to pin down the perpetrator's true identity.

"The federal government has failed to protect the American people and our jobs," said Barletta. "Many jobs are being taken away from Americans. Many jobs are being taken that Americans will do. And Illegal workers depress the wages of legal workers who just can't afford to have less in their paychecks," he said.

When asked why Washington was  unwilling to deal with the issue of illegal immigration, the mayor offered some insight.

It's not an easy stand up for Americans on these issues because politicians live in fear or being labeled bigots and racist, even though these issues have nothing to do with that. They just don't want to be labeled that way so they will not address the issue but instead prefer to be politically safe, he said.

"Illegal immigrants can break the law, but not Americans - it's appalling," said one caller.

the approach our politicians is backwards on these issues. Would you talk about rebuilding the houses in New Orleans before you stopped the water coming in? The problem with illegal immigration is being handled like that, said another caller.

Sanctuary cities defy federal law, said Barletta. "We are headed down a slippery slope in America," he said.

People hide under the veil of trying to be compassionate he said. If we truly want to have compassion... one out of four of our veterans is homeless. We need to think about the men and women who fought for this country and who gave us the freedoms we have. Let's think about these folks first, he said.

The whole goal here is to protect people of all races," he said. "And people want to see something done now."

--END--

[1] Interview: CSPAN Washington Journal, April 19, 2008