Anti-Illegal-Immigrant Law OK'd in TX

[Nbadan]

Source: Associated Press via NY Times


FARMERS BRANCH, Texas (AP) -- Voters in this Dallas suburb became the first in the nation Saturday to prohibit landlords from renting to most illegal immigrants.

The ban was approved by a vote of 68 percent to 32 percent in final, unofficial returns.

The balloting marked the first public vote on a local government measure to crack down on illegal immigration.

''It says especially to Congress that we're tired of the out-of-control illegal immigration problem. That if Congress doesn't do something about it, cities will,'' said Tim O'Hare, a City Council member who was the ordinance's lead proponent.

NY Times (http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Immigration-Texas.html?_r=1&oref=slogin)

In unrelated news, restaurants, home construction and agri-businesses in and around Farmer's Branch took an unexpected whole-sale bounce in consumer prices today and the city Mayor declared May 14th as a day without a Mexican.

[Winehole23]

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected attempts by towns in Texas and Pennsylvania to revive local laws that cracked down on illegal immigration.


The court decided against hearing appeals filed by the towns of Farmers Branch, Texas, and Hazleton, Pennsylvania, which were seeking to overturn appeals court rulings that said the ordinances were trumped by federal immigration law. In doing so, the court left intact the appeals court rulings and avoided wading into the divisive issue of immigration at a time in which reform efforts have stalled in the U.S. Congress.


Prompted by concerns that the federal government was not adequately enforcing immigration laws, officials in both towns enacted ordinances that, among other things, required tenants to provide identification that could later be verified with immigration authorities and penalized landlords from renting to illegal immigrants. The Hazleton ordinance also penalized employers for knowingly employing unlawful immigrants. Groups of tenants, landlords, employers and workers challenged the laws in court. They won in both cases, prompting the towns to seek Supreme Court review

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/03/us-usa-court-immigration-idUSBREA221C220140303