Judge blocks Texas town's immigrant law

By ANABELLE GARAY, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 10 minutes ago

DALLAS - The town of Farmers Branch may not yet begin enforcing its voter-endorsed law barring the rental of apartments to most illegal immigrants, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay extended his temporary restraining order blocking the law until June 19, when he plans another ruling on whether the measure can be enforced while it is subject to legal challenges.

During a hearing Tuesday, lawyers for the Dallas suburb acknowledged there were still "drafting issues" with the ordinance. They presented a document outlining how the ordinance could be salvaged if the court finds portions of it are flawed.

The ordinance requires managers to verify that renters are U.S. citizens or legal immigrants before leasing to them, with some exceptions. Violators face fines of up to $500, and each day would be considered a separate violation.

Attorneys for the city had no comment after the hearing.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070605/ap_on_re_us/immigration_texas

before the judge's ruling, garnered quite a discussion.