Jon Hurdle reports for Reuters:
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Santa isn’t welcome in Hazleton because he’s an illegal immigrant just like all the others the Pennsylvania town is trying to get rid of — or so someone would have you believe.
A new Web site, http://www.nosantaforhazleton.com, says the town intends to keep Santa out this Christmas because he represents the illegal immigration the town council believes increases crime and burdens local services.
But the site is a hoax, created by someone in a bid to satirize a local law passed in July that has attracted national attention by imposing penalties on businesses and landlords to deter them from hiring or renting rooms to illegal immigrants.
Of course this is a hoax, because Santa is not an illegal immigrant — he is fully documented and has the proper visa, which he clearly cannot overstay as there are some other nations such as Samoa which are closer to the east side of the International Date Line, and he would thus need to deliver there after finishing with the US. In any event, NORAD keeps a close eye on his movements, and NORAD is known to keep in close contact with the Department of Homeland Security, which I’m certain would take immediate action if Santa tried any such shenanigans.
Although Santa’s elves are (hopefully) mostly unrelated and undoubtedly live in close quarters, my understanding is that Santa has the proper dormitory permits from the North Pole authorities. There is the whole soliciting-from-the-roadside issue that may be a concern, however, but it is unclear that this is related to his legal status. There are also no known flying-reindeer-drawn-sleigh collisions, fatal or otherwise.