Thread: TX: FB rental ordinance language questioned

FB rental ordinance language questioned

Some wonder what U.S. law immigration measure would uphold


09:58 PM CDT on Saturday, April 21, 2007
By STEPHANIE SANDOVAL / The Dallas Morning News

"It's the law" has become the catchphrase for backers of an anti-illegal immigrant ordinance that Farmers Branch residents will vote on next month.

But some have a misperception about what law the proposed ordinance is upholding.

Resident Larry Washington last week said he supports the ordinance that would ban landlords from renting to most illegal immigrants because it's upholding federal law requiring rental tenants to provide evidence of citizenship or immigration status.

But there is no such federal law.

The Farmers Branch ordinance, in explaining the justification for the local ordinance, refers to a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development regulation regarding tenants.

What that paragraph implies, Mr. Washington said, is that the regulations apply to all rental properties nationwide.

"That's not correct," said Patricia Campbell, public affairs officer for HUD's Region 6.

"That's only for HUD-assisted properties," she said. "That only applies to public housing and Section 8 programs administered through the housing authority."

Marisol Perez, staff attorney for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said there's an even bigger misperception about the HUD requirements.

Mr. Washington said he still supports the local ordinance, because he believes there should be laws preventing those who are in the country illegally from being able to rent housing.

But he said the proposed ordinance was misleading – though several paragraphs later it does mention that the HUD certification process applies to HUD's Section 8 rental assistance program.

"When I read this here, it says this applies across the board – that any individual that rents a house or apartment has to have legal status or be a citizen," Mr. Washington said. "I'm still at a loss. You're telling me if an individual is coming over here to this country, first of all they can get here illegally, then they can rent apartments. ... that's not right."

Tim O'Hare, the City Council member who is the driving force behind the ordinance, said that when he refers to the ordinance as upholding the law, he's not referring to the HUD ordinance but to multiple federal laws on immigration.

"The federal government has technically and specifically said you cannot come into the country unless you have the legal right to do so," Mr. O'Hare said. "And it's a felony to harbor illegal aliens. The law we have passed and that voters are voting on complements federal laws that are already on the books."

Kris Kobach, a law professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, said the federal appeals courts have defined "harboring" very broadly.

"Harboring can mean providing shelter, housing or even an apartment to somebody," Mr. Kobach said. "The other law [says] if the tenant is an illegal alien, then the tenant is unlawfully present in the country, so entering into a lease arrangement which involves the tenant residing in Farmers Branch or any other city in America is furthering of the tenant's unlawful presence, too."

Mr. Kobach has joined the legal defense teams of several cities facing lawsuits over ordinances similar to the one Farmers Branch residents will vote on May 12.

He represented Hazleton, Pa., in a recent trial, and he's assisted Farmers Branch as well.

Mr. O'Hare said Mr. Kobach was responsible for helping the city rewrite the ordinance that the council first adopted in November. In January, the city repealed that ordinance and adopted a new one that largely mirrored the first one but made minor changes. The process for adoption of that ordinance also was changed to reflect concerns raised in one of the four lawsuits against the city.

"It was to strengthen our ability to defend it in court," Mr. O'Hare said of the changes.

Mr. Kobach "is a constitutional law guru when it comes to immigration matters. We want the brightest legal mind when it comes to illegal immigration issues that we can find in the country on our team, because we are fully committed to seeing our initiatives through to the end," Mr. O'Hare said.

Mr. Kobach was chief adviser on immigration law and border security for former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Opponents of the ordinance said the federal law is not as cut and dried as arguments from Mr. Kobach and others may indicate.

MALDEF is representing apartment tenants and landlords in a lawsuit against the city that charges that the ordinance is unconstitutional. One of their arguments is that the burden should not be placed on untrained apartment managers to determine the residency status of prospective tenants.

"For landlords to be prosecuted under that statute, they would have to have criminal intent. They would have to actually know who they are renting to is unlawful," Ms. Perez said.

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"For landlords to be prosecuted under that statute, they would have to have criminal intent. They would have to actually know who they are renting to is unlawful," Ms. Perez said.

that's exactly what they will know when they check the immigration status.... DUH!

I thought most people did backround checks when renting a house, like credit! If they don't their stupid.