Rep Pushes Frosh to Focus on Illegal Immigration
Rep. Lou Barletta, known in his district as a mayor who passed controversial illegal immigration measures, has taken his interest to the U.S. Congress. Yesterday, he announced that he was forming a freshman caucus to propose new ideas to combat illegal immigration.
"When I was mayor, I was told that only the federal government could make laws dealing with illegal immigration. Lucky for me, here I am," Barletta told reporters Wednesday.
As the former mayor of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, Barletta passed a law that revoked the business licenses of employers that hired illegal immigrants, fined landlords who rented to people without proper immigration status, and declared English the official language of the city. The law has since been deemed unconstitutional by federal courts.
The new caucus will be different from the illegal immigration caucus that already exists in the House in that it will be exclusive to freshmen.
FrumForum confirmed with Barletta's office that the caucus does not yet have any members, but was told that Barletta only recently sent out what's known as a 'Dear Colleague' letter to encourage others to join.
Barletta is also soon expected to introduce a bill regarding sanctuary cities which do not fully enforce immigration law.
Add Tim on twitter: www.twitter.com/timkmak
Tweet