If the federal government won't do it, local authorities will... crack down on illegal aliens begins

The US federal government may be unwilling to secure our borders and prevent illegal immigration, but in some areas local authorities are filling the gap.

In Georgia, the legislature passed and the governer signed into law the toughest legislation against illegal immigrants in the US, incorporating meaningful penalties against employers and companies who hire them, requiring documentation to purchase property, barring illegal aliens from some state programs and assistance and making English the official language of Georgia.

The result? An influx of illegal aliens out of the state, as proven by a declines in real estate purchases and rentals by Hispanics, claims for public assistance, reduced traffic in Georgia's hospital emergency rooms, reduced crime relate to illegal aliens and reduced enrollment by non-English speakers in schools.

Obviously, significant employer penalties mean that employers suddenly are able to find legal residents for all those `jobs Americans are not doing', Dubbya.

In towns like Hazleton, PA, city councils are increasingly reacting to the problem of illegal immigration by beginning what the mayor calls one of the toughest crackdowns on illegal immigrants in the United States.

"Illegal immigrants are destroying the city," said Mayor Lou Barletta. "I don't want them here, period."

Last week Barletta introduced and the City Council approved a measure that would revoke the business licenses of companies that employ illegal immigrants; impose $1,000 fines on landlords who rent to illegal immigrants; and make English the city's official language.

Barletta said he had to act after two illegal immigrants from the Dominican Republic were charged last month with shooting and killing a man. Other recent incidents involving illegal immigrants include the arrest of a 14-year-old boy for firing a gun at a playground.

"This is crazy," said Barletta, who took office in 2000. "People are afraid to walk the streets. There's going to be law and order back in Hazleton and I'm going to use every tool I possibly can."

In San Bernardino, Calif., a city with a substantial Hispanic population as well as a lot of illegal immigrant workers, voters will decide whether to adopt a measure like the one in Hazleton. Elsewhere, an Idaho county filed a racketeering lawsuit against agricultural companies accused of hiring illegal immigrants. And in New Hampshire, a pair of police chiefs began arresting illegal immigrants for trespassing.

"They're being forced to pick up the financial tab for all of this nonsense and they are doing whatever they can to find ways to combat it at the local level," said Susan Tully, national field director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

Frankly, it's an embarrassment.

My prediction is that Congress, up for re-election and with its ear closer to the ground than the senate will avoid any attempt at securing our borders and dealing with illegal immigration until after November.