ACLU Quotes Bible in Lozano vs. City of Hazleton

It is with keen interest that I've been following the Hazleton case. I would argue that it represents a 21st Century version of the famous Scopes trial but instead of discussing evolution and religion, the Hazleton trial is about the rights of American citizens versus illegal aliens.

There has been drama, humor and abject ridiculousness thus far in the trial argued between the open-borders crowd (ACLU and others) and the city of Hazleton, Pennsylvania. Ringleading the proceedings is an Ito-style judge (as a reminder, Judge Ito presided over the O.J. Simpson trial). And demonstrating how bizarre the trial is, the case even has an ACLU lawyer quoting the Bible and an "expert" witness stating that "illegal" doesn't mean illegal.

It's disappointing that the mainstream media isn't giving the story the coverage it deserves. But it's not surprising. As cheerleaders for foreigners invading the U.S., the NYT, WaPo and the broadcast media have given the story scant attention. In fact, if one relies on the MSM, one likely doesn't even know about the trial much less its significance.

Thankfully, we've got the Internet and the blogosphere so information is not completely hidden from the public. And, in my opinion, nobody is following the Hazleton story better than Diggers Realm.

The case was brought by the ACLU, Puerto Rican Defense and Education Fund and illegal aliens on the constitutionality of the Illegal Immigration Relief Act and is being held at the William J. Nealon Federal Building in Scranton, Pennsylvania with US District Judge James Munley on the bench. The act would fine landlords who rent to illegal aliens and yank the business licenses of those who hire them.

Hazleton has received $200,000 from people across the country to defend itself in court against the larger national groups. Plaintiffs have 25 attorneys, Hazleton has 5. Over eight days, 21 witnesses and 8 city officials testified.

A massive amount of information has been filed in the case including 30 page "briefs", expert reports, resumes, government publications, statistics, laws cited and other documents that fill 10 half-foot thick notebooks. Over 50 volumes in all. In addition, a 3 1/2 hour presentation on DVD from University of California at Irvine sociology professor Ruben Rumbaut wherein he states that "National studies show that illegal immigrants commit crimes at lower rates than other groups.", which was conveniently released around the time the trial started.

Interestingly, concurrent with the Rumbaut assertion that illegal aliens are not the worst criminals, the police reported that a Hazleton man was assaulted on a city street by 17 or 18 Hispanic males.

The Hazleton story needs exposure. For those who can, pass it along. I would recommend Digger as a valuable source. He's got it covered.

I've also included this post as a production of Stop The ACLU Blogburst. If you would like to join, please email Jay@stoptheaclu.com or GribbitR@gmail.com. You will be added to the mailing list and blogroll. Over 200 blogs already on-board.