Judge Blocks
Rental Ban on Illegal Immigrants
Texas towns
ordinance usurps federal role in deciding legality, ruling says
FARMERS
BRANCH, Texas (Associated Press) May 22, 2007 A federal judge Monday blocked
enforcement of a voter-endorsed ordinance preventing apartment rentals to most
illegal immigrants in this Dallas suburb, opponents of the ban said.
The ordinance was to take effect Tuesday, more
than a week after voters approved it. Opponents had filed three requests in
federal court for an injunction to stop its enforcement.
The ordinance requires managers to verify that
renters are U.S. citizens or legal immigrants before leasing to them, with some
exceptions. Violators face fines of up to $500, and each day would be considered
a separate violation.
Only the federal government can determine
whether a person is in the United States legally, wrote U.S. District Judge Sam
A. Lindsay.
Instead of deferring to federal officials,
Farmers Branch has created its own classification to determine which noncitizens
may rent an apartment, the judge ruled.
Lindsay also wrote that the city appeared to
have used federal regulations on housing benefits for noncitizens to define who
may rent an apartment in the city.
"The court recognizes that illegal immigration
is a major problem in this country, and one who asserts otherwise ignores
reality," Lindsay wrote. "The court also fully understands the frustration of
cities attempting to address a national problem that the federal government
should handle; however, such frustration, no matter how great, cannot serve as a
basis to pass an ordinance that conflicts with federal law."
Also Monday, a federal lawsuit was filed in
Dallas on behalf of three Hispanic voters who live in Farmers Branch.
The lawsuit seeks the creation of single-member
districts, in which a city council member is elected to represent a specific
section. Both large and small cities with diverse racial makeup use the system,
said Rolando Rios, the attorney leading the suit.
Activists say that if the method had been in
place, at least one Hispanic candidate would have been elected to the council and
could represent the group. All five council members are white men.
Since 2070, Farmers Branch has changed from a
small, predominantly white community with a declining population to a city of
almost 28,000 people, about 37 percent Hispanic, according to the Census Bureau.
The city had not been served with the lawsuit,
said Farmers Branch spokesman Tom Bryson.
