June 2007 IIRA Rally

June 3rd 2007 saw hundreds of people gather at Hazelton Pennsylvania's city hall in support of Mayor Lou Barletta's Illegal Immigration Reform Act.John Clark, of Americans for Immigration Control, was the Master of Ceremonies. He introduced the first speaker, Joey Vento, owner of Geno's Steaks in Philadelphia.You may remember that Joey gained national attention a while back when he posted sign a sign in his restaurant that read " This is America. When ordering, please speak English."For all intents it was a peaceful gathering with a few minor shouting matches, none of which led to violence or resulted in any arrests by the local and state police who roamed throughout the crowd.People traveled for hundreds of miles to attend the rally to show their support for Barletta.A local newspaper reported that one woman drove from Hendersonville NC to congratulate mayor Barletta for his stand against illegal immigration.Some of the other notable figures who attended were Carmen Mercer, vice president of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, William Gheen, president of the Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee, and Carmen Morales of You Don't Speak for Me, a latino group that is oppossed to illegal immigration.