Hazelton, Pa. anti-immigrant law declared unconstitutional

On July 26, U.S. district court judge James Munley declared a year-old Hazelton, Pa., anti-immigrant ordinance

unconstitutional. The city passed the harshest ordinance in the country last year, penalizing businesses for hiring undocumented workers and landlords for renting to them.

Similar ordinances have been passed or considered in over 90 U.S. cities. These could now potentially be declared unconstitutional.

The case against the ordinance was made by the ACLU on behalf of 11 plaintiffs, including four undocumented immigrants. The judge’s 206-page ruling declared that all people residing in the United States are protected by the Constitution.

The decision represents another victory for the immigrant rights movement in its struggle against the profoundly racist campaign to intimidate and exploit one of the most oppressed sectors of the U.S. working class.