This is a little sickening to me. Catering to the 1/3 of Dallas who are illegal and not wanting to upset anyone. Cowards!

(I'm only posting the portion of the article about illegal immigration. You can read the whole article at the link below.)

TexasGal

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... 382cc.html

Candidates agree on migrant issue

Dallas: Mayoral hopefuls say illegal immigration is a federal matter

12:00 AM CDT on Tuesday, April 3, 2007

By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News
dlevinthal@dallasnews.com

Unlike many recent Dallas mayoral forums, Monday's gathering, hosted by the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, focused on a relatively narrow set of issues, including immigration reform, education and the participation of minorities in municipal government.

Crime, the campaign's prevailing issue, was barely mentioned. But the candidates addressed these issues with frequency:

Illegal immigration

If the candidates rallied around one point, it was that the city of Farmers Branch is wrong in attempting to battle illegal immigration by passing local ordinances. Each Dallas mayoral candidate argued that addressing illegal immigration is not a local matter. And, to some degree, each one expressed support for federal immigration reform.

"It divides the community. It will induce endless litigation, expensive litigation. They will learn what a big mistake they made out there," lawyer Darrell Jordan said of Farmers Branch.

"Dallas is one of the great cities of America. It clearly is not Farmers Branch," banker and former Mayor Pro Tem Max Wells said.

"I wouldn't be supportive of anything like a Farmers Branch," Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill said.

"If there's ever a model to not follow, it's what we've got there," District 9 City Council member Gary Griffith said.

District 3 City Council member Ed Oakley said he could never imagine that five council members – the minimum number needed to put an item on a council agenda – would ever put a Farmers Branch-style item before the Dallas City Council. "If they were to collect the signatures to do that, I would be the one leading the charge to make sure that it was defeated," Mr. Oakley said.

"It's a federal issue that should be dealt with on a federal basis," former Turner Corp. chairman and chief executive officer Tom Leppert said.