Fed's inaction on immigration forces localities to take extreme measures.

The inaction of the federal government in dealing with illegal immigration has forced several local governments to take the law into their own hands. Read the story here. One such community is Hazleton, Pa. where the mayor says illegal immigrants are overfilling schools cramming local health clinics and "destroying small towns" that don't have the budget to deal with the influx. The city passed a law that fines landlords for renting to illegal immigrants and punishes employers for hiring them. To implement it, renters will be required to go to City Hall and obtain a permit assuring landlords that they are in the USA legally, a process that would require a background check with the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Similar measures are being considered in Riverside, N.J., Palm Bay, Fla., in the Pennsylvania towns of Allentown, Shenandoah, Mount Pocono, Gadsden, Ala., Kennewick, Wash., and Escondido, Calif. . Others are expected to follow. Opponents argue that the requirements will not pass judicial scrutiny, probably on the basis that the laws unfairly single out illegals. However, proponents retort that laws that penalize employers, such as in Utah, Georgia, Louisiana, Colorado and Pennsylvania, meet judicial scrutiny. Whether or not one agrees that these laws can pass judicial scrutiny, it is clear that localities will not be taking these bold steps if the federal government did not abandon its responsibility to secure our borders from illegal immigration.