Thread: Texas City's Immigration Law Put on Hold

Jan 11, 2:33 PM EST


Texas City's Immigration Law Put on Hold

FARMERS BRANCH, Texas (AP) -- An ordinance that requires landlords to verify the citizenship of potential tenants was blocked by a judge Thursday, a day before it was to go into effect in this Dallas suburb.

A judge granted a temporary restraining order following a claim saying the state open-meetings laws were violated when the ordinance was approved and adopted.

The ordinance, passed unanimously by the City Council in November, requires property managers or owners to verify the immigration or citizenship status of apartment renters. A violation is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500.

A hearing was set for Jan. 22 to determine whether the order should be made a temporary injunction pending a trial.

The lawsuit, filed in state court by Guillermo Ramos, is one of several pending against the city over the ordinance.

Farmers Branch, a suburb of Dallas, has changed since 1970 from a small, mostly white bedroom community to a city of almost 28,000 that is 37 percent Hispanic, according to the census.

Nationwide, more than 60 municipalities have considered, passed or rejected similar laws, but Farmers Branch became the first city to match the trend in immigrant-heavy Texas.

Since then, judges in California and Pennsylvania have blocked similar ordinances.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/ ... SECTION=US

Time for the good people of the United States to sue judges for negligence.