Judge blocks Texas town's immigrant law

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.

"We're cautiously optimistic," said attorney Jim Renard, who represents apartment complexes suing the city over the ordinance. "It is obvious the city is struggling now."

Attorneys for the city had no comment after the hearing.

Opponents of the ordinance have argued that it is unconstitutional, discriminatory and too vague.

Among other things, they contend the ordinance uses federal regulations on housing benefits for noncitizens to define who may rent an apartment in the city. Critics of the ordinance say those regulations exclude many people who are in this country legally, such those on student visas or on temporary high-tech work visas.

Landlords and apartment managers, not immigration officials, would determine who is eligible to live in Farmers Branch apartments, and they would face legal repercussions over those decisions, Renard said.

Attorneys for the city said during the hearing that the new law does not try to interfere with federal laws regulating immigration.

"The ordinance does not say we're going to decide who's illegal for deportation," said attorney Darrell Noga, who represents Farmers Branch.

Lindsay granted a temporary restraining order May 21, a day before the ordinance was to take effect and more than a week after Farmers Branch voters approved the measure. It was the nation's first public vote on a local government measure to crack down on illegal immigration.

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union contend poor families could be thrown out of homes because of the ordinance. And, the groups say, families in which some people are undocumented and others are citizens or legal immigrants could be forced to move or split up.

Since 1970, Farmers Branch has changed from a small, predominantly white community with a declining population to a city of almost 28,000 people, about 37 percent Hispanic, according to the Census Bureau.