Hazleton Ordered to Pay Attorneys’ Fees to Successful Immigrant Rights Plaintiffs
Photo courtesy of City of Hazleton website
LexisNexis Legal Newsroom: Immigration Law reports that, after seven years of litigation, the city of Hazleton has been ordered to pay nearly $1.4 million to attorneys who were able to enjoin the city’s controversial, tough immigration enforcement ordinance. U.S. Judge James Munley entered the ruling in the case earlier this week. He awarded about half of the $2.84 million that the attorneys sought for the case, which began in 2006 and reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
Hazleton must pay $1.38 million in fees and $47,594 in costs. The cost of a court battle was one reason why the American Civil Liberties Union and Latino Justice PRLDEF warned the financially troubled city not to enact the law.
Here is some background. In July, 2006, the city of Hazleton passed an immigration enforcement a series of immigration enforcement ordinances that would punish landlords and employers accused of renting to, or hiring, any “illegal alien.” Businesses that violated the laws would be fined or denied business permits.
The ordinances were never implemented as a result of litigation brought by civil rights groups. The federal lawsuit argued that, bin addition to other challenges, the ordinances unconstitutionally usurped the federal government’s exclusive power over immigration.
Hazleton officials blamed many of the town’s ills, including crime and economic burdens, on undocumented immigrants. Supporters of the law stated that their goal was to drive “illegal aliens” out of town.
At a two-week trial in March, 2007, the plaintiffs presented evidence showing that Hazleton’s attempt to scapegoat immigrants. District Court Judge James M. Munley ruled the Hazleton ordinances unconstitutional and enjoined their enforcement. The town appealed that decision to the court of appeals, which affirmed the injunction. After a couple of trips to the Supreme Court, the court of appeals re-affirmed its decision.
Current Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach was the architect of the Hazleton immigration enforcement laws, as well as a number of other state and local immigration enforcement laws that later were invalidated. The Mayor of Hazleton at the time of the laws’ passage, Lou Barletta, championed the laws and now is a member of the U.S. Congress. His congressional website highlights his role in passing the laws.
KJ