Hazleton Toughens Up Its Already Tough Illegal Immigrant Law

The city of Hazleton, PA has become a hotbed of activity in the move to restrict illegal immigration and punish those who directly or indirectly support it. Hazleton had previous passed the toughest illegal immigration law in the country, but facing legal challenges, did the unexpected. Instead of withdrawing the law altogether, they wrote a new, tougher version which they feel will better stand up to the coming legal attacks:

Officials in the Pennsylvania town of Hazleton on Friday strengthened a local law designed to drive illegal immigrants away in a bid to defend the measure against legal challenges.

Hazleton City Council passed a new version of the Illegal Immigration Relief Act, an ordinance first passed in July that was already one of the toughest anti-illegal immigrant laws in the country. It has since been copied by other cities where illegal immigration is blamed for rising crime and overburdened social services.

The new law, approved by a vote of 4-1, increases pressure on local employers to avoid hiring illegal immigrants and raises fines for landlords who rent rooms to them.

Legal employees can now sue their employers for any work lost as a result of a business license being revoked because a company was found to have hired illegal immigrants.

The new law would also revoke a business license within three days of a violation being discovered. The previous statute would only have canceled a license at the time of renewal. Landlords will have to pay $250 a day for every illegal alien they are accommodating.

What I'm wondering is if this new law could open the door to unemployed legal citizens suing companies who hire illegal aliens and therefore take potential jobs away from them? That could be an interesting legal tactic, but don't look for the ACLU to come in on that side. They're already on the side of the illegals.