Judge: Farmers Branch illegal immigrant rule unconstitutional [View All]

Houston Chronicle 5/28/08
Judge: Farmers Branch illegal immigrant rule unconstitutional

FARMERS BRANCH — A federal judge found Wednesday that a Dallas suburb's rule prohibiting apartment rentals to illegal immigrants was unconstitutional and could not be enforced.

In his decision, U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay concluded Farmers Branch didn't defer to the federal government in immigration matters. Instead, the city tried to create its own classification to determine which noncitizens could rent in Farmers Branch, the judge said.

Lindsay also wrote that the city's attempts to salvage the ordinance faltered because they would have required the court to draft laws. That function is outside of the court's duties.

Council members passed the ordinance last year. It would have barred apartment rentals to illegal immigrants and required landlords to verify legal status. The rule would have exempted minors and people 62 and older from having to prove their immigration status or citizenship.

Families made up of citizens and undocumented members would have been allowed to renew an apartment lease if they met three conditions: they were already tenants, the head of household or spouse was living legally in the United States, and the family included only the spouse, their minor children or parents.