Illegal Immigration: Enforcement Equals Attrition

Crossposted from CommonSenseAmerica:

"It is unrealistic to deport millions of illegal aliens." This is what some of our elected officials have been telling us as they cower from their responsibility to uphold the laws - all of the laws - of this nation.

But, in cities across our nation, there are elected officials who are proving that there is no need to deport the millions of illegal aliens. They will leave of their own volition if our laws are enforced and there are no employers willing to hire them.

From the Washington Times:

More local governments across the country are trying to get tough on businesses that encourage illegal entry into the United States, saying they are frustrated both by Congress' failure to stop it and by rising crime perpetrated by illegal aliens in their own communities.

Mayor Lou Barletta of Hazleton, Pa., estimates that as "many as half" of the estimated 10,000 Hispanics who were living in Hazleton when it passed an ordinance in July to punish those who hire or house illegal aliens have since left the city.

"We've been notified by some 30 other cities in the United States that are waiting to process such ordinances," he said yesterday in an interview.

In Valley Park, Mo., 20 immigrant families disappeared virtually overnight from a high-crime apartment complex, and at least dozens quickly left Riverside, N.J., this summer when those two small towns passed laws cracking down on employers who hire illegal aliens and landlords who rent to them.

Legislation enacted this week in Suffolk County, N.Y., bars contracts with employers who hire illegal aliens, and a measure that would closely resemble the one enacted in Hazleton will be considered next week in Altoona, Pa.

"Our purpose was a matter of public safety, since there was too much overcrowding and a serious fire" in a house filled with illegal aliens, said Mayor Charles Hilton of Riverside, a blue-collar town of 8,000 on the Delaware River that enacted its ordinance in July.

"Serious crime, including murder and assault, doubled in Hazleton between 2004 and 2005," said Mr. Barletta, who cited a killing in May for which an illegal alien has been charged.

Mike White, chairman of the Board of Aldermen in Valley Park, said that "it turns out a fair number of people were living and working here illegally, and we recognized we had to do something and do it fairly. Jobs are the magnet that draws illegals here, and the idea is to take away that magnet."

Of course, there are critics of these cities who wish simply to enforce the laws of our nation - how dare we enforce our laws?

According to information provided by the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF) and the National Association of Counties, laws have been passed in at least nine local jurisdictions from South Carolina to California and are under consideration in 31 others.

"The reality is these ordinances create division in a community, and the motivation for them is political," said Cesar Perales, president of PRLDEF, which is suing to overturn the Hazleton law that prompted action in other locations.

I agree with this gentleman. These ordinances do "create division in a community". They clearly divide the legal citizen from the illegal alien. They clearly divide the illegal alien from gaining access to jobs, housing, and other benefits they are not entitled to under our law. They clearly divide the illegal alien from this nation and loudly asks them to return to their own nation and enter our country with respect to our law.

And the man who has been the symbol of courage, one of the first to stand up and take his city back from illegal aliens, is the Mayor of Hazelton, Pa, Lou Barletta.

Yesterday, Barletta raised the bar once again.

Mr. Barletta said he signed two ordinances yesterday: one that allows "legal employees to sue employers who hire illegals for lost wages" going to people hired unlawfully, and one making English the official language of Hazleton.

Thank God for politicians that still remember their duty to America and its citizens.

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let me know at what level you would like to participate.**

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