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Attempts to Curb Illegal Immigration Prove Costly
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"It's not because I'm in favor of illegal immigration. That is not the question here. The question is, what is this ordinance doing? . . . And it's very little. But the damage is very, very great," former mayor Dave Blair said.
The city received about $31,000 in private donations for its legal defense fund. But after paying legal fees, only about $5,000 remains.
Hazleton has fared better, receiving $266,000 from thousands of donors around the country to defend its ordinance banning landlords from renting to illegal immigrants. No taxpayer money is being spent on legal fees or other lawsuit-related costs.
Donations included $10,000 from Geno's Steaks owner Joey Vento, whose Philadelphia eatery has signs reading "This Is AMERICA: WHEN ORDERING 'SPEAK ENGLISH'."
The lawsuit by opponents of the Hazleton measure says the ordinance violates residents' constitutional rights, runs afoul of state and federal fair-housing laws and encroaches on the federal government's authority to oversee immigration.
Enforcement of the Hazleton ordinance was barred pending the outcome of a trial, which started in March. A federal judge is expected to rule later this year.
Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta said the city's attorney fees are expected to be substantial. And if the city loses, he said it could be ordered to pay as much as $2 million in legal costs incurred by opponents of the ordinance. Still, he promised that Hazleton would stand its ground.
"I'm sure the ACLU, part of their goal would be to run the city out of money in hopes that we would stop fighting, but I will raise whatever I have to," Barletta said.
In Farmers Branch, O'Hare is determined to keep his community's ordinance from meeting a fate similar to Escondido's. His city has the money to fight the lawsuits, he said, and its insurance policy should cover the costs of two of them.
"Any thought that they can spend us into giving up or quitting is wrong," O'Hare said.
