Election 2008: What’s At Stake?

I’m off to Hazleton, Penn., today to follow Mayor Lou Barletta’s run for Congress and look at the impact of illegal immigration on his town and his district. Hazleton is a small city (pop. about 30,000) in Northeast Pennsylvania’s anthracite region. Its economy was once based on coal, but in recent decades the city has attracted manufacturing and distribution centers, along with a sizable population of Hispanic immigrants.

Hazleton got a lot of attention in 2006 and 2007 for passing an ordinance designed to fight illegal immigration. That ordinance, which would have prohibited landlords from renting to illegal immigrants and employers from hiring them, was overturned by a federal court last year. Now, Barletta, who advocates for stricter enforcement of immigration laws, hopes to take the issue to Washington in a race against incumbent Democrat Paul Kanjorski.