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Federal judge halts enforcement of Farmers Branch [illegal immigrant] ordinance
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| Contributor | DFWDem |
| Last Edited | DFWDem May 21, 2007 05:22pm |
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| Category | General |
| News Date | Monday, May 21, 2007 11:20:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | FARMERS BRANCH -- The battle over Farmers Branch’s ban on renting to illegal immigrants escalated Monday afternoon as a federal judge issued a restraining order preventing the ordinance from going into effect.
The ordinance, approved by voters May 12, was to become enforceable Tuesday, but U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay found reason to believe that a lawsuit filed to overturn the ordinance would succeed in federal court and issued an injunction.
Supporters say illegal immigration has placed too much of a burden on schools and other local services. They say that the federal government isn’t enforcing immigration laws, so the duty falls to local officials.
Opponents of the referendum say that immigration is a matter for the federal government and that Farmers Branch’s stance is alienating Hispanics. They also say landlords shouldn’t be responsible for verifying citizenship.
The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, argues that the ordinance is unconstitutional and illegal.
The brief also includes statements from landlords that the ordinance is unfair because it is not specific enough about what documentation is good enough to determine legal status. The city has also not allowed enough time to retrain employees of rental properties, the plaintiffs said in federal court documents. |
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