IMMIGRATION & SMALL-TOWN JUSTICE

IN SMALL MUNICIPALITIES across the nation, brush fires of discontent are starting to erupt as officials struggle to control an influx of illegal immigrants.

Towns like as Riverside, N.J., Palm Bay, Fla., and Hazleton, Pa., have passed ordinances - some labeled “relief acts” - that punish landlords who rent to undocumented immigrants, and the businesses that hire them. Some cities, like Hazleton, have declared English their “official language.”

Joe Vento, owner of Geno’s steaks, probably understands.

And we understand, too, why these towns have enacted such legislation - the federal government, which sets this country’s immigration policy, has failed miserably to provide strong oversight, enforcement or direction.

Faced with increases in crime and overwhelmed by requests for municipal services, these small, not-so-well-off towns have taken things into their own hands. And, as much as we might sympathize with their plight, their efforts must not, and should not, usurp federal law. Several of these ordinances face court challenges on such grounds.

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IMMIGRATION & SMALL-TOWN JUSTICE
Philadelphia Daily News