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Immigration
See other Immigration Articles

Title: Federal judge strikes down Dallas suburb's ban on renting homes to illegal immigrants
Source: AP
URL Source: [None]
Published: May 29, 2008
Author: Anabelle Garay
Post Date: 2008-05-29 20:34:57 by Jethro Tull
Keywords: None
Views: 181
Comments: 9

Texas town's immigrant-renting rule is struck down

Thursday May 29, 8:38 am ET

By Anabelle Garay,

Associated Press Writer

FARMERS BRANCH, Texas (AP) -- A Dallas suburb's ban on apartment rentals to illegal immigrants, an ordinance passed by city leaders and later endorsed in a vote by its residents, is unconstitutional, a federal judge found Wednesday. ADVERTISEMENT

Only the federal government can regulate immigration, U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay concluded in his decision.

The city didn't defer to the federal government on the matter, violating the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, which allows for the federal government to pre-empt local laws, Lindsay said.

Bill Brewer, who represented apartment complex operators who opposed the rule, declared victory.

"It's a good day, not just for my clients," Brewer said. "It's a good day for people who are thinking clearly about what is the proper role of municipal governments in the immigration debate."

Representatives for the city said they had anticipated the outcome. The city has no plans to appeal the ruling because it has already stopped pursuing the ordinance and replaced it with another tactic.

"We're disappointed but not particularly surprised," Michael Jung, one of the city's attorneys, said.

The Farmers Branch council passed the ordinance last year. It would have barred apartment rentals to illegal immigrants and required landlords to verify legal status. The rule would have exempted minors and senior citizens from having to prove their immigration status or citizenship.

Families made up of both citizens and undocumented members would have been allowed to renew an apartment lease if they met three conditions: they were already tenants, the head of household or spouse was living legally in the United States, and the family included only the spouse, their minor children or parents.

Residents heavily endorsed the rule a year ago in the nation's first public vote on a local measure to combat illegal immigration.

A group of apartment complex operators, residents and advocates sued Farmers Branch. They alleged the rule was so poorly drafted that it could allow exclusion of legal immigrants and citizens from renting, was difficult to abide by because it didn't provide clear guidance for apartment managers and owners, and improperly tried to turn property managers into policing agents.

Lindsay then blocked Farmers Branch from enforcing the ordinance, a temporary injunction now made permanent by his decision Wednesday.

The rule failed to provide clear guidance that immigration documents were acceptable for proof and didn't explain what was meant by "eligible immigration status," the judge wrote.

The city's attempts to salvage the ordinance faltered because they would have required the court to draft laws, he said. That function is outside the court's duties.

Farmers Branch has given up requiring landlords to verify immigration status and instead plans to implement a rule that would require prospective tenants to get a rental license from the city, which would then ask the federal government for the applicant's legal status before approving it.

Around the country, about 100 cities or counties have now considered, passed or rejected similar laws, but Farmers Branch was the first in immigrant-heavy Texas, according to the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, which tracks the data.


Poster Comment:

"only the federal government can regulate immigration."

++++++++++++++++

OK....

then enforce the already existing laws WHICH regulate it.

Post Comment   Private Reply   Ignore Thread  


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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 3.

#3. To: Jethro Tull (#0)

Farmers Branch is still fighting illegal immigration through other methods:

www.dallasnews.com/shared...ws/stories/031908dnmetfbi mmigrant.327c122.html

3/19/08 Farmers Branch officials expect to soon have a detective trained under the federal 287(g) program to identify illegal immigrants and begin deportation proceedings.

The city had sought such training for a jail officer but has been waiting nearly 1½ years without receiving approval, Police Chief Sid Fuller said.

More recently, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement offered training for a detective, who would work part time on a regional task force, probably one targeting document and benefit fraud.

The investigator would be trained to use federal databases and interview suspects to determine if they are in the country illegally.

When not working on the task force or on other duties, the detective would be available to help identify illegal immigrants at the jail.

"It's another tool to help us keep the community safe," Chief Fuller said. "As he's investigating crime, if he identifies a suspect who happens to also be in this country illegally, he'll have the authority to process that individual."

The chief said the move would require adding a police position, something City Manager Gary Greer said would probably happen with the start of the next fiscal year Oct. 1. A current detective could begin the new duties earlier, however.

City Council members said they support the new plan, which the chief briefed them about Tuesday night.

"Every tool the city can use to address this issue, the city will be better off," Mayor Pro Tem Tim O'Hare said.

"If we stay the course, we'll get the results our residents desire."

Council member Ben Robinson agreed. "I think we ought to do it. I think we ought to hire you a detective," he said.

Even without 287(g), hundreds of illegal immigrants have been identified in the city jail through another alternative, the Criminal Alien Program.

Under CAP, jail officers ask all prisoners whether they were born in the U.S.

If the detainees can't show they are here legally, the department contacts ICE agents, who interview them to verify their immigration status.

Those not in the country legally are detained up to 48 hours so ICE agents can take them into custody. Since August 2006, Farmers Branch has detained 659 such prisoners, all of whom were taken by ICE, the chief said. He said the city could continue participating in CAP.

Under CAP, the Farmers Branch Police Department is basically a "referral system" for ICE, the chief said. The city wanted a jail officer trained to do the job that ICE agents are doing under CAP. But Chief Fuller said that appears to be a dead issue.

"They're trying to get the most bang for their buck, and we're a pretty small operation," he said.

The department applied for the program in November 2006, at the direction of the City Council. ICE visited to evaluate the department, the chief said, "then everything just sat."

X-15  posted on  2008-05-29   21:15:21 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


Replies to Comment # 3.

#4. To: X-15 (#3)

I want that gun.

Jethro Tull  posted on  2008-05-29 21:27:12 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


End Trace Mode for Comment # 3.

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