HAZLETON — A federal judge on Thursday struck down Hazleton's tough anti-illegal immigration law, declaring the city has no constitutional authority to enforce a measure that has been copied by towns around the nation.

The city's Illegal Immigration Relief Act sought to impose fines on landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and deny business permits to companies that give them jobs. Another measure would have required tenants to register with City Hall and pay for a rental permit.

Based on testimony from a nine-day trial held in March, U.S. District Judge James Munley ruled Thursday that the law usurped the federal government's exclusive power to regulate immigration and deprived residents of their constitutional right to due process.

"The genius of our Constitution is that it provides rights even to those who evoke the least sympathy from the general public," Munley wrote in a 206-page opinion.

"Hazleton, in its zeal to control the presence of a group deemed undesirable, violated the rights of such people, as well as others within the community."

Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta called the decision bizarre and said he intends to file an appeal.

"Sadly, today's decision sends the wrong message to elected officials in Washington and elsewhere," he told reporters outside City Hall. "We, the American people, want our cities secured, our borders protected and our citizenship respected. This battle is far from over."

The Republican mayor had pushed for the strict laws last summer after two illegal immigrants were charged in a fatal shooting. Barletta argued that illegal immigrants brought drugs, crime and gangs to the city of more than 30,000, overwhelming police and schools.

Hispanic groups and illegal immigrants in Hazleton sued, denouncing the measures as racist and divisive.

"It is a bittersweet victory," Anna Arias, president of the Hazleton Area Latino Association, said Thursday. "It is sad in the sense that we should be spreading love and unity, and not hatred and division as this has created."