Pennsylvania ? A federal judge on Thursday struck down Hazleton, Pa.’s tough anti-illegal immigration law, ruling unconstitutional a measure that has been copied across the country.

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 trial in March, U.S. District Judge James Munley ruled that the act was pre-empted by federal law and would violate due process rights.

Hazleton’s act was copied by dozens of municipalities that think the federal government hasn’t done enough to stop illegal immigration. Munley’s ruling does not affect those measures, although most of them were put on hold pending the outcome in Hazleton, according to the plaintiffs’ attorneys.