Local Pennsylvania Racist Immigration Law Struck Down

Ruling on one of the most controversial issues these days, the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down a set of local ordinances passed in Hazleton, Pa., designed to punish employers and landlords for doing business with “illegal aliens.” In Lozano v. City of Hazleton, the unanimous three-judge panel ruled that the local laws are barred by the Supremacy Clause because they would conflict with the federal immigration laws that govern employment and would intrude on the federal government’s exclusive power to decide whether an alien should be deported. The U.S. Supreme Court is likely to weigh in on the issue at some point soon. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a decision by the Ninth Circuit that upheld a similar Arizona statute.

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