Pittsburgh post-gazette.com:
During five hours on the witness stand, Mr. Barletta said Hazleton is being ruined by violent crime, crowded schools and a clogged emergency room at the city's private hospital. He attributed many of the problems to what he called "illegal aliens," even though he admitted he had no idea how many such immigrants are in his city.
Lawyer [Vic] Walczak, of the American Civil Liberties Union, got the mayor to concede that he could not name a single instance where illegal immigrants had received service from Hazleton's fire department or health officer. Mr. Barletta also was forced to admit he had no proof that illegal immigrants were the source of schools so crowded that numerous classes have to be taught in trailers. ...
Mr. Walczak, though, said Hazleton's own statistics show that illegal immigrants have committed only a handful of serious crimes. Of the 8,575 felonies in the city since 2000, about 20 were linked to illegal immigrants, Mr. Walczak said.
He tried to question the mayor about these statistics, but the city's lawyers objected. They said questions about crime statistics should be posed to the police chief, not Mr. Barletta.
Judge Munley disagreed, ruling that the mayor must answer questions about the numbers. But he gave Mr. Barletta until today to study so he can be prepared for Mr. Walczak's questions.
(Via Speaking Freely.)
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