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Lozano v. Hazleton

Location: Pennsylvania
Last Update: February 5, 2015

What's at Stake

In July, 2006 the city of Hazelton, Pennsylvania passed anti-immigrant legislation that would punish landlords and employers who are accused of renting to hiring anyone the city classifies as an 鈥渋llegal alien.鈥 Businesses that refused to comply with the laws and investigate the immigration status of employees and tenants would be fined or denied business permits.

The ordinances, originally slated to go into effect November 1, 2006, were never implemented as a result of litigation brought by the 老澳门开奖结果 and other civil rights groups starting in August 2006. The federal suit argued that the ordinances illegally usurped the federal government鈥檚 exclusive power over immigration, in addition to violating due process and equal protection rights.

Hazleton officials blamed many of the town's ills, including crime and economic burdens, on undocumented immigrants. Supporters of the law stated that their goal was to drive so-called "illegal aliens" out of town. At a two-week trial in March, 2007, the plaintiffs presented evidence showing that Hazleton鈥檚 attempt to scapegoat immigrants was based on distorted facts and propaganda, not reality. The case was closely watched across the country because the Hazleton ordinances had served as a model for similar anti-immigrant laws nationwide.

On July 26, 2007, District Court Judge James M. Munley ruled the Hazleton ordinances unconstitutional, and prohibited the town of Hazleton from enforcing them. The town appealed that decision to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, and in September, 2010, the 3rd Circuit also ruled the ordinances unconstitutional in a unanimous decision. The case went back before the 3rd Circuit appeals court after the Supreme Court鈥檚 ruling on Arizona鈥檚 anti-immigrant laws in 2012. In July 2013 the Third Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed its earlier finding. That decision came the same week the Fifth Court of Appeals ruled against a similar anti-immigrant ordinance in Farmers Branch, Texas.

In March, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Hazleton鈥檚 request that it hear the case, leaving in place the earlier federal court rulings finding the ordinances unconstitutional and ensuring that they will never go into effect. Plaintiffs鈥 petition for approximately $2.8 million in legal fees is currently pending in the district court.


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