Opinion

OUR OPINION

June 25, 2007

Region can help launch vital immigration debate

WE ARE THE eye of the storm.

As unlikely as it may seem -- as we sit in our cool green mountains more than 2,000 miles from the Mexican border -- we are ground zero when it comes to the debate on illegal immigration.

Make no mistake, the eyes of the world are focused on us.

We saw that clearly again on Wednesday when CNN’s Lou Dobbs broadcast his live town meeting program from Penn State Hazleton.

The show featured Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta, an assortment of opponents of his proposed illegal immigration ordinance, and pithy and intense questions from audience members. It showcased how deeply and emotionally this issue resonates, and it highlighted arguments that will almost surely be made before the U.S. Supreme Court, where we believe this issue will ultimately be decided.

At the same time, the same global eyes were focused on a second local legal controversy, the tale of illegal immigrant Jose Guadelupe Arias-Maravilla, who successfully convinced U.S. District Court Judge Richard Caputo that he should be granted a marriage license.

Luzerne County Register of Wills Dorothy Stankovic had denied him a license because of his illegal-alien status.

Judge Caputo ruled that Stankovic could not require immigrants to prove they are legally in the country as a condition of issuing a marriage license.

Arias-Marvilla, and his bride to be, Heather Buck, sought and received their marriage license on Wednesday and plan to marry in a few days.

However, as with the Hazleton situation, this legal tussle is only beginning.

Caputo’s ruling only granted a preliminary injunction in the case. But as Terrie Morgan-Besecker reported, “it does not resolve the case, however, as there remains outstanding questions regarding whether the policy violates due process and equal protection clauses within the U.S. Constitution.”

Reuters News Service, which serves a heavily international media clientele, reported this story and tied it into the larger Hazleton struggle.

“The couple plan to get married in their church in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, before Arias returns to Mexico. ...The Hazleton City Council has been sued by the ACLU and other civil-rights groups over a city law that seeks to crack down on illegal immigration by penalizing businesses that hire undocumented immigrants, and finding landlords that refuse to rent to them. Following a trial in March, a federal court is expected to rule on the case in the coming months.”

We welcome being the home to this important debate, one that will impact every one of us for decades.

It’s stimulating to see the clash of ideas and the intellectual tumult being played out in our backyard. It is indeed heady stuff.

As Russian dissident writer Andrei Sakharov -- who knew about the importance of free and open discussions -- said, such debate and discussion is necessary to arrive at the truth.

“Profound thoughts arise only in debate, with a possibility of counterargument, only when there is a possibility of expressing not only correct ideas but also dubious ones.”

Let the debate continue, and let us be honored that we are the hosts for such important matters.

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