Illegal Immigrants
Hazelton, PA was one of the originators of a very tough anti-illegal immigrant law. In a 206-page opinion, the law was struck down by a US District Court. I have yet to read any more than this article to understand the ruling.
Troubling, to me, was the idea of renter registration. That has an aura of class-based treatment wherein those who can afford houses are given one treatment under the law, as opposed to those who rent. It also seems flawed as, just as a homeowner can have anyone stay with him/her, the registered renter is legally entitled to have others in the apartment.
In theory, though, the law has some unique approaches which may have been valuable. Fining landlords, for example, cuts off the economic impetus found in Jamestown to house and employ illegals. As with many issues, though, a holistic combination of legislation and community involvement/education is going to be necessary, imho, given the easily-rattled fault lines of race and economics involved in such a law.
Troubling, to me, was the idea of renter registration. That has an aura of class-based treatment wherein those who can afford houses are given one treatment under the law, as opposed to those who rent. It also seems flawed as, just as a homeowner can have anyone stay with him/her, the registered renter is legally entitled to have others in the apartment.
In theory, though, the law has some unique approaches which may have been valuable. Fining landlords, for example, cuts off the economic impetus found in Jamestown to house and employ illegals. As with many issues, though, a holistic combination of legislation and community involvement/education is going to be necessary, imho, given the easily-rattled fault lines of race and economics involved in such a law.
posted by TM at 4:33 PM
1 Comments:
It seems as thought we are losing rights--and certainly the right to live privately, without registration, seems like a basic right. Yet, I must say I see the logic in this. However, I also see flaws. For instance, a honest person will comply while a dishonest one will not. We already have enough people living in shacks, cargo holds of old trucks,abandoned train cars etc. If we take away the right of these illegals to live in somewhat decent housing, we will jsut be sending mroe of them (and their children) to these even less desirable places to live.
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