Barletta: Hazleton Will Appeal Decision

I am very disappointed Judge Munley has ruled against all legal residents of the City of Hazleton. This fight is far from over. I have said it many times before: Hazleton is not going to back down. We are discouraged to see a federal judge has decided – wrongly, we believe – that Hazleton and cities like it around the nation cannot enact legislation to protect their citizens, their services, and their budgets.

We are going to appeal to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. But today’s decision shows the size of the challenge a small city like Hazleton, Pennsylvania, faces when it chooses to take on the powerful, well-funded special interest groups and lobbyists.

I would also like to personally thank everyone across this country and around the world who joined our cause by sending me personal letters, calling my office, and contributing to our legal defense fund through smalltowndefenders.com.

As we have seen over the past week or so, both in Hazleton and around the country, illegal immigration is a very important issue to many, many Americans. Sadly, today’s decision sends the wrong message to elected officials in Washington and elsewhere.

However, I know that we, the American people, want our cities secured, our borders protected, and our citizenship respected. Rest assured, neither the City of Hazleton nor I will stop fighting for all legal residents.

To quote a great American, this is a slip and not a fall. This battle is far from over.