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DALLAS (AP) -- A federal appeals court Wednesday upheld a lower court ruling that stopped a Dallas suburb's ban on illegal immigrants seeking housing. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Farmers Branch overstepped its authority in 2008 when it passed a law calling on the city's building inspector to check the immigration status of anyone wanting to rent an apartment who wasn't a U.S. citizen. Under the law, illegal immigrants would have been barred from rental housing, and landlords who knowingly allowed them to stay could have their rental licenses barred. The appellate court said the city...

APTexas town's immigrant-renting rule is struck downThursday May 29, 8:38 am ETBy Anabelle Garay, Associated Press Writer Federal judge strikes down Dallas suburb's ban on renting homes to illegal immigrants 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. 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...

Tim O'Hare wins Farmers Branch mayor's race, but hardline anti-immigration candidates fail in other cities11:44 PM CDT on Saturday, May 10, 2008By By BRANDON FORMBY and IAN McCANN / The Dallas Morning Newsbformby@dallasnews.com; imccann@dallasnews.com Tim O'Hare, who made a name leading Farmers Branch's efforts to drive out illegal immigrants, was elected mayor of the Dallas County suburb Saturday. Meanwhile, incumbent mayors and city council members beat challengers who wanted more immigration enforcement in Irving – where campaigns were highly heated and often personal. Carrollton Mayor Becky Miller, beset by questions about her past, lost in an Election Day onslaught by...

<p>Hispanic activist Carlos Quintanilla was arrested in Irving on an accusation of driving with an invalid license and other charges Thursday, the same day he was organizing an immigration rally.</p> <p>Mr. Quintanilla said Accion America was holding its latest rally to urge police to not take people into custody for minor traffic violations just because they don't have a state-issued identification card or driver's license.</p>

This is a simple question. Everyone should know the answer. It goes to the heart of the American experiment in self-government. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote that “just” government rests on “the consent of the governed.” The Constitution put that in writing, in law. But recently, two federal judges have decided that they should run America, not the people. Federal judges are, of course, not elected and serve for life. The idea that they should decide public issues rather than officials elected for that purpose is an attack on the basis of American government. And yet it...

DALLAS (AP) -- A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Dallas suburb of Farmers Branch from enforcing a voter-approved law prohibiting apartment rentals to illegal immigrants until a legal challenge is resolved. U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay had previously issued a temporary restraining order in May, blocking the law a day before it was to take effect. He issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday. "Farmers Branch, rather than deferring to the federal government's determination of immigration status, has created its own classification scheme for determining which noncitizens may rent an apartment," Lindsay wrote. The law would have required apartment managers to...

Farmers Branch, a small Texas town near Dallas, passed an ordinance imposing penalties on landlords who might rent their apartments to illegal aliens. The act included a requirement that the voters must approve it. In an exceptional turnout last Saturday, the voters did approve, 68% to 32%. The ACLU and various parties took the Town to court, claiming that the ordinance was unconstitutional. The court ruled that the Councilmen and residents of Farmers Branch are too stupid to govern themselves, substituted its judgment for theirs, and struck the ordinance as unconstitutional. No, that’s not the stated reason for the decision...

FARMERS BRANCH, TEXAS — For months, a fierce debate over an ordinance that would prohibit landlords from renting to most illegal immigrants has consumed this quiet and otherwise unremarkable north Dallas suburb. The controversy peaked eight days ago when Farmers Branch residents became the first in the nation to approve such a measure — by 68% to 32% in a strong turnout. Similar apartment rental bans adopted elsewhere were decided by city officials, not voters. The American Civil Liberties Union has asked a federal judge to block the ordinance but — barring a last-minute restraining order — enforcement will begin...

FARMERS BRANCH, Texas — A federal judge on Monday issued an order halting enforcement of a voter-endorsed ordinance preventing apartment rentals to most illegal immigrants, a day before the ban was to take effect in this Dallas suburb. U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay wrote that only the federal government can determine whether a person is in the United States legally. Instead of deferring to federal officials, Farmers Branch has created its own classification to determine which noncitizens may rent an apartment, the judge ruled, also noting that Farmers Branch appeared to have taken federal regulations regarding housing benefits for...

FARMERS BRANCH, Texas — Voters in this Dallas suburb became the first in the nation Saturday to prohibit landlords from renting to most illegal immigrants. The ban was approved by a vote of 68 percent to 32 percent in final, unofficial returns. The balloting marked the first public vote on a local government measure to crack down on illegal immigration. "It says especially to Congress that we're tired of the out-of-control illegal immigration problem. That if Congress doesn't do something about it, cities will," said Tim O'Hare, a City Council member who was the ordinance's lead proponent. The ordinance requires...

FARMERS BRANCH, Texas -- Farmers Branch residents on Saturday became the first in the nation to pass a regulation aimed at preventing illegal immigrants from renting apartments. Voters in the Dallas suburb approved the measure, which requires apartment managers to verify that potential renters are U.S. citizens or legal immigrants. The issue had sparked heated protests and debates. One opponent of the measure likened the decision to segregation. "This is going to be a black spot on Farmers Branch," Elizabeth Villafranca said. "This is going to be right in the column with the sitting in the back of the bus...

Early voters in Farmers Branch strongly favored an ordinance that would make the city the first in the nation to prohibit landlords from renting apartments to most illegal immigrants, according to results released Saturday evening by Dallas County election officials. In early voting, 76.3 percent of voters approved Ordinance 2903, while 23.7 were against. None of the results from Saturday's voting at the city's 18 precincts had been released.

FARMERS BRANCH, Texas — Voters deciding Saturday whether to repeal or approve an ordinance prohibiting landlords from renting apartments to most illegal immigrants have seen the issue divide neighbors in their Dallas suburb. They will be the first in America to vote on a regulation requiring apartment managers to verify that renters are U.S. citizens or legal immigrants before leasing to them. Minors and people 62 and over are exempt from having to prove their immigration status or citizenship. Families that include citizens and illegal-immigrant members could lease if they meet three conditions: they're already tenants, heads of households or...

What do these towns have in common: Escondido (CA), Farmers Branch (TX), Hazleton (PA) Riverside (NJ) and Valley Park (MO)?They are among the cities and counties nationwide that have proposed or enacted local ordinances that bar landlords from renting to illegal immigrants, penalize businesses that hire them or train their police force to enforce federal immigration laws – and they all have been targeted by the ACLU, civil rights activists and business groups seeking to drive up the legal costs of defending the ordinances in court so high that town officials knuckle under.The strategy worked in the case of Escondido,...

Tensions are high among opponents of a controversial Farmers Branch ordinance aimed at illegal immigrants, and the rifts are widening as people on the same side of the issue accuse one another of wrongdoing. The development, some observers say, could hurt chances of defeating the ordinance and getting City Council candidates who share their view elected May 12. One of the most vocal opponents of the measure that would ban apartments from renting to most illegal immigrants has parted ways with the League of United Latin American Citizens over the group's tactics. And one Dallas activist is accusing some in...

Dallas Business Journal - Farmers Branch - Illegal Immigration Survey Dallas > Business Pulse Surveys Subscribe to Dallas Business Journal SURVEY QUESTION: Do you support the ordinance requiring property managers or owners to verify the immigration or citizenship status of apartment renters? The city of Farmers Branch is facing lawsuits over its recently passed immigration ordinance and now will allow its citizens to vote on the issue on May 12. Do you support the ordinance requiring property managers or owners to verify the immigration or citizenship status of apartment renters? Support Oppose Comments: This poll is not a scientific sampling,...

Search Topics Home FAQ Topics Top 10     Modules · Home· AvantGo· Downloads· FAQ· Forums· Open_Records· Search· Stories Archive· Surveys· Top 10· Topics· Web Links Search Languages Select Interface Language: ABA Hopes to Visit Hutto; Activists Head to Farmers BranchPosted on Wednesday, January 17 @ 19:44:03 MST by editor "We hope to have a delegation of volunteers to visit Hutto in the very near future," says Megan H. Mack, Associate Director of the American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Immigration (see flyer pasted below). Mack expressed the hope in a Jan. 17 email forwarded by Jay J. Johnson-Castro. Although the results of the ABA visit to the T. Don Hutto...

Two civil rights groups filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging a suburb's new law that outlaws renting to illegal immigrants, alleging the ordinance violates federal law and forces landlords to act as immigration officers. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund filed the suit on behalf of Farmers Branch residents and landlords. The law, along with a measure that made English the official language of the city, was passed in November and is scheduled to go into effect Jan. 12. The lawsuit claims the ordinance is so poorly drafted that it excludes even legal...

DALLAS — A real estate broker filed a lawsuit Monday alleging members of the Farmers Branch City Council and the city's mayor repeatedly violated the state's open meetings laws to deliberate a series of anti-illegal immigration ordinances. Guillermo Ramos, of Farmers Branch, was among opponents who protested at city hall before council members in this Dallas suburb unanimously approved having property managers or owners verify the immigration or citizenship status of apartment renters. The ordinance was part of a series of anti-illegal immigration rules passed in November that intend to keep illegal immigrants out of Farmers Branch. Council members also...

Lofty stuff, this Texan of the Year designation. It would make sense, and it would be tempting, to afford my vote to some powerful figure who enjoyed notable success in 2006, from Gov. Rick Perry to any of the various people who engaged in noble or philanthropic pursuits, or one or more of the various Texans who have made us proud by fighting the war on terror. But with permission, I'll go a level deeper and identify a Texan who has become a lightning rod for every sentiment along the spectrum of opinion on one of the most compelling issues...