Texas town joins illegal-immigrant trend (Farmers Branch,TX)

AP on Yahoo ^ | 11/12/06 | Annabelle Garay - ap

[NormsRevenge]

FARMERS BRANCH, Texas - This Dallas suburb could become the first city in Texas to adopt a sweeping ordinance intended to keep out illegal immigrants, a cause for concern among its large minority population.

More than 50 municipalities nationwide have considered, passed or rejected laws banning landlords from leasing to illegal immigrants, penalizing businesses that employ undocumented workers and making English the local official language.

But until now, that trend hasn't been matched in the Lone Star State.

"This is the first town in Texas that had the guts to do what's right," Susie Hart, who grew up in Farmers Branch, said during a recent demonstration outside City Hall. "The education system is tanking, health care has gone through the roof, everybody is bilingual."

Such sentiments and the proposed ordinance trouble many people in Texas, where many Latino families can trace their roots here to the era before statehood.

"This is not just a Farmers Branch problem," Elizabeth Villafranca said of the proposal.

Villafranca, whose family owns a Mexican restaurant in Farmers Branch, said she worries that such laws will spread to other cities if the City Council approves the proposal. The measure is expected to be submitted to the council on Monday, but there was no indication when it might be put to a vote.

Since 1970, Farmers Branch has changed from a small, predominantly white bedroom community with a declining population to a city of almost 28,000 people, about 37 percent of them Hispanic, according to the census.

It also is home to more than 80 corporate headquarters and more than 2,600 small and mid-size firms, many of them minority-owned.

The local debate over illegal immigration began in August and spawned demonstrations by both sides of the issue. Council members adopted a resolution criticizing the federal government for not aggressively addressing the issue.

A councilman has given city attorneys drafts of an ordinance that would make English the city's official language and proposals to fine companies and landlords who do business with illegal immigrants.

The Farmer's Branch proposal follows a vote this year in Hazleton, Pa., to fine landlords who rent to illegal immigrants, deny business permits to companies that employ them and require tenants to register and pay for a rental permit. However, a federal judge temporarily blocked enforcement of the Hazleton ordinance while he considers a lawsuit against the town by the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups.

More than a dozen other Pennsylvania cities have taken up similar ordinances, as have several others in the South and a handful in California.

Many of the towns and counties have based their ordinances on a model provided by the Immigration Reform Law Institute, which favors limits on immigration and is affiliated with the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

"They've all expressed a great deal of frustration with the failure of the federal government to respond" to illegal immigration, said Mike Hethmon, the institute's general counsel.

Critics fear the spread of anti-illegal immigration rules will lead to sanctioned discrimination and racism.

"It's basically saying those people are illegal in their very nature; it is all right to be against them because they are lawbreakers. Many people are assuming that all immigrants are lawbreakers, and that people who are different, who speak a different language, are to be shunned," said Cesar Perales, president and general counsel of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund.

[NormsRevenge]

On the Net:

Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund http://www.prldef.org/

Immigration Reform Law Institute
http://www.irli.org/

[Lunatic Fringe]

Farmer's Branch has become a real crappy suburb.

[Halls]

I live in the city right next to Farmer's Branch and I applaud the mayor! What is said is this guy is getting threats to his family and people have vandalized his home!

Farmer's Branch used to be a nice town but is going down hill fast like all the other city's around Dallas from all the illegals moving in. I think they just want to clean up the city and I hope it works!

[PatrickF4]

"It's basically saying those people are illegal in their very nature; it is all right to be against them because they are lawbreakers. Many people are assuming that all immigrants are lawbreakers, and that people who are different, who speak a different language, are to be shunned,"

It's our fault if they are here, so we should take care of them. We've been winking at this for over 20 years...

If it's our fault they are here, then we have the duty to send them back as quickly as possible, and to keep more from coming. And time to start enforcing the laws against the employers who encourage them.

Cheap, cheap, labor, give us that cheap cheap labor...

[TexasTransplant]

I live in a Town that is 82% Hispanic (as per the last Census), Illegal Immigrants are as welcome as a New Tax.

Those that want New Taxes or more Taxes are pro Illegals, those that don't want a New Taxes are against them. I would assume it is pretty much the same Nationwide.

Socialism will eventually have to out itself to gain any new ground, the next two years will be telling.

TT

[School of Rational Thought]

This writer uses "minority" as if referring to nonwhites. Isn't the case in Texas, that whites are now the minority?

Anyone out there?

[Kimberly GG]

"It's basically saying those people are illegal in their very nature; it is all right to be against them because they are lawbreakers. Many people are assuming that all immigrants are lawbreakers, and that people who are different, who speak a different language, are to be shunned," said Cesar Perales, president and general counsel of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund."

I love how they think that playing the 'all immigrants' and the race card will guilt us into becomming pro illegals.

[Graybeard58]

she worries that such laws will spread to other cities if the City Council approves the proposal.

Let's hope so.

[Kimberly GG]

I've personally seen two suburbs in Ohio go down the toilet when those 'hard working' aliens and migrant workers turned them into overcrowded, latino ghettos. Both cities, pressured by FLOC/AFL/CIO, made the decision a few years back to accept the matricular consular cards and banks gave them accounts and mortgages with government issued tax id numbers. These towns should be prosecuted for RICO violations.

[brytlea]

"It's basically saying those people are illegal in their very nature; it is all right to be against them because they are lawbreakers. Many people are assuming that all immigrants are lawbreakers, and that people who are different, who speak a different language, are to be shunned," said Cesar Perales, president and general counsel of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund.

People who do illegal things may be illegal in their very nature, I don't know. But that's not the point. However, since Cesar takes the liberty to read people's minds, I'll read his and say that he believes that the only laws that should be obeyed are those he agrees with.

susie

[wodinoneeye]

Its just a start. And as the illegals start migrating to the criminal friendly cities and stress their welfare apparatus they will more and more find themselves unwelcome.

Its too bad a 'liberal' tax cant be created for all those who vote for conspiring against American laws and making ALL the taxpayers pay for yet another layer of parasites.

[gubamyster]

ping

[jmaroneps37]

This town,like many others around the country, will help bait the aclu into bringing the very constitutionality of the 10th amendment to the USSC. It is hard to see how the 10th amendment would be killed by the Court. Morover once it is re affirmed, states will begin to use it and a new birth of freedom will occur.

This is a very importnat fight. We must win and we will win.

[redstates4ever]

Good for Farner's Branch. The line has to be drawn somewhere.

[redstates4ever]

Good for Farmer's Branch. The line has to be drawn somewhere.

[WatchingInAmazement]

Vandals Target Farmers Branch Mayor’s House

‘English Only’ Debate May Have Sparked ‘Viva Mexico’ Message

(CBS 11 News)

Vandalism hit close to home this weekend for Farmers Branch Mayor Bob Phelps.

As CBS 11 first reported at 6 p.m. Saturday, the mayor discovered Friday morning vandals had spray painted “viva Mexico” on the side of his house.

By Saturday afternoon, the bright red letters had been blasted off with a high pressure wash, but some say the damage to community may be harder to fix.

“This is what happens when a community is filled with clash and conflict,” Carlos Quintanilla, with the Farmers Branch LULAC, said.

The controversy stems from a city proposal to make English the official language in the city.

In addition, the proposition --- introduced by Councilman Tim O'Hare in August --- would make it illegal in Farmers Branch for businesses to hire, and for apartment complexes to lease to, illegal immigrants. Those caught would face fines.

“It’s just a shame it had to happen,” the mayor said. “I hope they are caught, punished and prosecuted.”

Members of a Hispanic who rallied in protest against the city proposition also want the culprit caught.


Quintanilla said he doesn’t want these actions to create an even bigger rift in the community.


“If it happened to the house of the mayor, it could happen anywhere,” he said.

The city council will address the issue in executive session at the Nov. 13 meeting.

http://cbs11tv.com/politics/local_story_308223141.html

[Rastus]

Such sentiments and the proposed ordinance trouble many people in Texas, where many Latino families can trace their roots here to the era before statehood.

Those families won't have a problem. To paraphrase Carville, "It's the illegals, stupid." Lead the way, Farmers Branch! Hopefully, Garland will follow suit. I highly doubt it, unfortunately.

[Melas]

This writer uses "minority" as if referring to nonwhites. Isn't the case in Texas, that whites are now the minority?

No, whites are not really a minority in Texas. There are more whites than any other ethnicity. Whites simply no longer outnumber all other ethnicities combined. Why that's the cause of such paranioa is beyond me.

[Melas]

Contraire, those families already have a problem and they're becoming quite loud about it. What will happen is that the rest of the metroplex will twist FB's arm. What? The new DART plans have Farmers Branch losing stops and routes? Too bad, so sad.