HAZLETON, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Hazleton City officials are issuing an alert today regarding a letter that has been sent to city residents regarding concerns that the city may become a sanctuary city.
Mayor Jeff Cusat (R) says the letter instructs the recipients to donate money to fund efforts to supposedly prevent Hazleton and Pennsylvania from becoming a Sanctuary City for undocumented immigrants.
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Hazleton city officials are warning residents of, what they described, as a "Sanctuary city scam letter."
The letter solicits financial donations to prevent the city and the state from becoming "sanctuaries" for undocumented immigrants.
This is a copy of the letter that is causing quite the uproar in Hazleton.
Mayor Jeff Cusat says it implies that the city may become a sanctuary city, which he says that is simply not true.
The letter has been showing up in the mailboxes of Hazleton residents the last several days. It is from a group that supposedly fights any effort for cities or states to become "sanctuaries" for undocumented immigrants, meaning that the city would not assist federal immigration agents, such as ICE, to enforce arrest warrants.
The letter sets up various donation levels for people to support their cause. Here's what the mayor has to say:
"I believe this to be a scam. The city has never been in discussions of being a sanctuary city. We are openly saying we will help any federal or state agency that comes into the city," voiced Mayor Jeff Cusat.
Cusat says he fears people will fall for the scam.
"So I don't want to see my residents sending money into something I believe to be a scam. There's no phone number on here, they are giving you 10 days to make a donation so I believe it to be a scam," said Cusat.
Cusat says he noticed something else on the letter that raised his suspicions.
"I did notice that the minimum donation is 28 dollars. For most of the stuff I do, I use a minimum of 28 dollars because I'm the 28th mayor of Hazleton. I don't think a national organization would do that without knowing a bit of the background of Hazleton," stated Cusat.
Amilcar Arroyo, publisher of the Spanish language newspaper El Menserjo, believes the letter only adds more tension in a city with Latinos in the majority.
"People, they are scared and they won't know what to do. People want to support and make Hazleton a sanctuary city. It wasn't a sanctuary city," added Arroyo.
We did reach out to an organization, whose name is on the letter. We did not hear back. We are still working the story and will have more in the days ahead.
