Web Posted: 01/10/2009 6:22 CST
Will the Legislature take on the thorny immigration issue?
Victor Landa

Let's say that the well publicized bustle of anti-immigrant ordinances in Farmers Branch was intended to preserve something that the city leaders felt was worth preserving.
And let’s say that the small town north of Dallas has served as a national testing ground for the ideas and the intent of those very same ordinances.

It goes without saying that some people in cities and towns of all sizes across the country have been watching Farmers Branch, to see how this experiment turns out. But the results of the experiment are not yet fully known, and so we wait.

On two levels, the Farmers Branch laws have already produced their intended outcome. The town has become notoriously unfriendly towards undocumented workers. And other cities across the country have enacted similar ordinances, so the culture seems to be spreading. The most recent city to follow the Farmers Branch example is Nashville, where an English Only measure will go before voters in a January 22nd special election.

According to some reports at least thirty cities and towns have already enacted official English ordinances. Others are contemplating laws that prohibit the sale of homes or leasing of apartments to people who cannot provide proof of citizenship. And for every town that has tried to enact such laws there have been and presently are challenges and injunctions against them.

There is every reason to believe that the New Year will bring a new round of attempts to find local answers to what conservatives and progressives alike believe is a federal problem. But there is frustration at the fact that the feds have been slow to do their part. So these small-town ordinances have sprung across the country and have spread to larger communities and are now being considered in some state legislatures.

There have been reports that some North Texas legislators are preparing a series of measures that pick up where Farmers Branch left off. Television station KAUZ, of Wichita Falls, posted this its news Web site: “Looking ahead, Texas lawmakers are set to meet next week and immigration is on the forefront. There are more than a dozen bills dealing with immigration being proposed. Some would punish employers for hiring unauthorized workers while others challenge the citizenship status of children born in the U.S. to illegal residents. Several other proposals are similar to ones that failed during the last session.â€