Santa Illegal Alien, banned from Hazelton PA

Hazelton, the small Pennsylvania city that gained notoriety this past summer when it passed some of the toughest anti-immigrant legislation in the nation, is once again in the news. This past Tuesday, a coalition of concerned citizens and city officials announced a new public awareness campaign called "No Santa for Hazleton" to demonstrate Hazleton's new "zero tolerance" policy toward illegal aliens.

The group claims that Santa represents everything the city fought against this past summer when they passed the “Illegal Immigrant Relief Act" to punish landlords and businesses that house or hire undocumented immigrants. According to the group, Santa is not only the country's most well know "illegal alien," he runs what the group claims is a foreign "sweatshop" where his workers take "jobs away from honest and hard-working Americans who play by the rules."


tags: immigration, hazelton

This Christmas, a grassroots coalition of concerned citizens and elected officials have come together to conduct a public awareness campaign against the nation’s most prominent undocumented worker: Santa Claus. The group intends to keep Santa out of Hazleton this Christmas, as he represents everything the town has rallied around Mayor Barletta to oppose. According to the Mayor, "We are waging a war of culture, and Santa is a dangerous idea whose reign must be put to an end."

• Santa is not an American nor is he legally recognized for residency or occupational purposes in this country. Oblivious to this fact, millions of Americans delight in inviting him into their homes and allowing him to work unsupervised every year. Children and the elderly are especially vulnerable to his costume and demeanor.



• Santa does not work alone, but employs hundreds to thousands of elves in what are clearly described as sweatshop or slave labor-type conditions. This takes jobs away from honest and hard-working Americans who play by the rules.

Appearing unlawfully for too long to remember, Santa Claus has come to represent a range of labor practices that undercut the American workforce in favor of unfair foreign competition or informal domestic laborers. Across America, the economies of small cities like Hazleton have been decimated as a result.

For further information, the group has launched a website, www.NoSantaForHazelton.com, which will serve as a resource for the town and a model for other towns to adopt in a national movement. The website will be used to collect donations to air a television advertisement the group has prepared, but includes additional features such as tips for parents to talk to their children about Santa, and an internet action tool for people of all ages to send letters to Santa asking him to stay away. In Hazleton, as the No Santa For Hazleton looks boldy to the future, this Christmas promises to be like no other.