.
They don`t want any Hazleton`s in California:
New law prevents cities from turning turning landlords into immigration police
By Jessie Mangaliman
Mercury News
San Jose Mercury News
Article Launched:As cities across the country grapple with illegal immigration, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a new state law Wednesday that prohibits county and municipal governments in California from enacting local laws that would require landlords to ask a tenant`s immigration status.
California may be the first state in the country to use state legislation to deal with a growing national trend that began in 2006 when the city of Hazelton, Pa., approved a city ordinance that penalized landlords for renting to illegal immigrants.
“These ordinances are a result of a larger problem,” said Francisco Castillo, a spokesman for the governor. He cited “the failure of Congress to enact meaningful immigration reform.”
The bills` sponsor, Assemblyman Charles M. Calderon, D-City of Industry, and leaders of a state association of apartment owners, hailed the new law, which takes effect on Jan. 1, as a civil rights victory.
“It`s important legislation because it`s the beginning of a trend we`re seeing throughout the country as cities begin to try to establish their own foreign policies,” Calderon said.
“Only the federal government can do that,” he said. “It`s important that we don`t have vigilante justice.”
You now, it would be nice if we could have some kind of justice. And waiting for the federal government to deliver is going to be a lengthy process.
