Here’s a story that ought to outrage every American: a federal judge in Pennsylvania has struck down as unconstitutional a local law in the town of Hazelton that was designed to crack down on illegal immigrants.

U.S. District Judge James Munley said Hazelton, which is 100 miles north of Philadelphia, is not allowed to fine businesses and penalize landlords who rent rooms to illegals. The judge said federal law prohibits Hazelton from enforcing any of the provisions of its ordinances. The city of 30,000 blames a recent rise in illegal immigration for boosting crime and overburdening social services. Naturally, the law was challenged by civil libertarians and civil rights groups.

But what rights should an illegal alien have when he has broken our laws to get here and sometimes breaks other laws while here? This is no way to run a country and it won’t be a country much longer if we allow lawbreakers to have rights and force legal residents to put up with them.

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Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.