NEWSLINKS
Breaking: Supreme Court Demands Review of Ruling in Hazelton Immigration Case
Back In The USSR? - Hazleton, PA Law Recalls USSR's 'Propiska'
Hispanics Flee Pa. Town Before Crackdown -
Washington Post
The new "Immigration Relief Act" recently passed by the City Council of
Hazleton, PA brings to mind the Soviet-era "propiska." Without which, no change
in residence could be made without official permission and failure to register
was subject to fines or imprisonment.
Read more:
"During the Soviet era there was a system of "propiska," or obligatory residence
permits in place that served to control internal movement and enabled law
enforcement agencies to monitor the movement of residents. Residents were
therefore restricted to living in one place, and presentation of the residence
permit was required for employment, education, and other civic formalities. This
document could be very difficult to obtain, with serious consequences for
non-possession. The Constitutional Supervision Committee of the USSR ruled that
the residence registration system (propiska) was unlawful, both in 1990 and in
1991."
More
Read the text of the Immigration Relief Act (PDF)
A cold winter rain had been falling on Hazleton all day. It was the deadline for tenant registration and the line was a long one.
Yuri Davidov's sciatica was acting up, and he was glad he'd finally made it to the front at last. Yuri was a naturalized American who had received political asylum in the United States back in 1970, after he managed to escape the communist dictatorship by a circuitous route that took him from from Moscow to East Berlin, where he passed through the checkpoint at the wall in the trunk of a car driven by a Party official. How he did that is a tale I'll tell you later.
"This reminds me of the old country," said Yuri. "You had to register with the government there, too." "Will I need to show this propiska to the Nashville authorities when I visit my daughter next month?" "Pro-what?" asked the clerk. "Propiska," Yuri repeated. When I lived in the Soviet Union, everybody had to have one. We'd heard Americans didn't have such things, and could live anywhere they wanted to. That's one reason I decided to defect."
"It's not the same thing, it's called a tenant permit," the clerk told the old man. "And since you're over 65, you don't have to pay the $10 registration fee. And we're the first in the country with a tenant registration law, so I don't think you'll need it Nashville, they haven't passed one yet. Just tape it on your refrigerator or something. But don't lose it."
"Call it what you will, it looks like propiska to me," Yuri said. "When my new apartment is ready, will I have to get another one?" He asked. "Yep," said the clerk. "Just come on in before you move and we'll do the paperwork."