The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Hazleton, Pa., may not punish employers or landlords that hire or rent to illegal aliens based on the fanciful claim that Congress has preempted that authority. A few observations. First, this, combined with the Arizona ruling, makes it more likely the Supreme Court will eventually weigh in on the preemption issue. Second, since the whole question of preemption relates to Congress — i.e., Congress decides which parts of immigration law are its exclusive jurisdiction — then this ruling suggests a necessary and politically attractive plank for November’s election: that a Republican Congress would clarify what the states and localities are, and are not, permitted to do with regard to immigration enforcement.
And finally, this ruling is a gift to Lou Barletta, mayor of Hazleton, author of the law being litigated, and candidate for Congress against a septuagenarian 25-year incumbent Democrat whom Barletta has challenged twice before. In a district that went for Obama by more than 10 points, a poll last month showed Barletta up by 11, and this ruling by a Democrat judge is just another inducement for Barletta supporters to Fight the Power with their contributions, their time, and their votes.