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New mayor says top priority is ridding Carrollton of illegal immigrants

11:31 PM CDT on Sunday, May 11, 2008
By STEPHANIE SANDOVAL / The Dallas Morning News
ssandoval@dallasnews.com

Look for the fight against illegal immigration to intensify in Dallas' northwest suburbs.

Carrollton's next mayor, Ron Branson, said Sunday that he'll begin working immediately to rid the city of illegal immigrants.

His come-from-behind election victory Saturday night coincided with the expected mayoral win in neighboring Farmers Branch by a better-known activist on the same issue: Tim O'Hare.

"Illegal immigration has got to be at the top," Mr. Branson said. "Every place I went, people wanted to talk about that."

He said he will create a citizens committee to come up with ideas for driving out illegal immigrants.

And he plans to meet regularly with Mr. O'Hare, who has led Farmers Branch's efforts to ban property rentals to illegal immigrants.

But Mr. Branson also signaled that he would not simply copy the neighboring city's ways.

"I do not want to rubber-stamp what they did," he said. "We want to make sure we're not profiling, we're following the law, and take advantage of ordinance opportunities."

Farmers Branch is fighting legal challenges over its rental ordinances. Mr. Branson said Carrollton should not implement those now but should be prepared to do so if courts clear the way.

Mr. O'Hare said he looks forward to working with Mr. Branson and Carrollton on a number of issues.

"That would include redevelopment, revitalization and helping do what we can to improve our schools and, of course, address the problems caused by illegal immigration."

Mr. Branson has said he'd also like to talk with officials from Irving about their efforts on immigration issues.

Irving Mayor Herbert Gears, who was re-elected Saturday, said his city has had great success in referring suspected illegal immigrants who have been arrested to federal authorities for deportation. Farmers Branch and Carrollton have begun similar efforts.

Mr. Gears stressed that he believes in letting the federal government do its job in the city jail, not in passing new laws that won't stand up in the courts.

He said he has no desire to talk with Mr. Branson or Mr. O'Hare about any other ideas.

"When they can achieve the results I've achieved on that issue, they can come talk to me," the Irving mayor said. "We don't need Tim O'Hare's brand of politics in the city of Irving."

Allan Saxe, political science professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, said the election of the two new mayors shows that illegal immigration continues to resonate with voters.

He doesn't believe the elections will effect much change, however, because the cities are already availing themselves of available federal programs.

And the Farmers Branch rental initiatives are tied up in constitutional challenges.

"I don't think it will have great reverberations outside the area, except those members of Congress that represent those areas will take notice of it," Mr. Saxe said.
"It's still a national issue and has to be addressed at that level."

Mr. Branson defeated incumbent Carrollton Mayor Becky Miller after news reports raised questions about her claims about her past and her family. She blamed him for setting the questions in motion.

"The citizens voted Ron in, and he'll have to prove himself to them," said Mrs. Miller, who served on the council for seven years before being elected mayor in 2005. "It's too bad this race had to be run the way that it did."

Mr. Branson, who stepped down from the council in 2006 for health reasons after being elected to two terms, initially raised questions about whether she had a brother who died in Vietnam, something she has told council colleagues over the years.

Mrs. Miller, who is white, gave Mr. Branson the name of a soldier who turned out to be black and had been born within four months of her.

As The Dallas Morning News investigated, Mrs. Miller acknowledged she had deliberately sent Mr. Branson false information, out of anger at his prying.

Other claims also didn't check out, including that she had sung professionally with Linda Ronstadt and Jackson Browne.

Mr. Branson has had a heart transplant since leaving the council and says he's in the best shape of his life.

The mayor-elect said that he will focus on economic development in addition to immigration.
He said the city lacks hotels and that its few motels have a reputation for crime.

About 22 percent of the city's registered voters cast ballots in the election. Only 8 percent of the registered voters cast ballots in the 2005 mayoral election in which Mrs. Miller defeated Matthew Marchant, City Secretary Ashley Mitchell said.