Texas town approves anti-illegal immigrant law

Houston, May 14: Voters in the Dallas suburb of Farmers Branch have approved an ordinance aimed at preventing landlords from renting housing to illegal immigrants.

The measure, which supporters said would help the local economy by pushing out illegal immigrants, passed yesterday by a vote of 4,058-1,941 in the Texas city of 28,500 people.

It requires landlords to verify that would-be renters are in the United States legally before leasing housing to them.

The Farmers Branch City Council passed the ordinance last year, but opponents forced an election on it.

Other US communities have approved anti-immigrant laws, but this was believed to be the first public vote by a municipality on such legislation, experts said.

Illegal immigration has become a hot political issue nationally, particularly among conservatives who believe it is damaging the country.

Opponents of the Farmers Branch ordinance filed earlier lawsuits against the city, and said after the vote they would continue fighting it in the courts. Their argument, in part, is that immigration laws are a federal, not local, matter.

''The silent majority in Farmers Branch agrees that this illegal ordinance will drain the community of resources and ultimately hurt the reputation of the city. We will act quickly to prevent ordinance 2903's enforcement,'' Nina Perales, an attorney for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said in a statement.

Attorneys for some Farmers Branch apartment owners said they would also fight the ordinance's enactment.

City Councilman Tim O'Hare, lead proponent of the measure, said the city would not back down.

''We will take this all the way to the Supreme Court if that's what we have to do,'' he said.

Reuters>