July 23, 2013 – The Wall Street Journal reports that the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an ordinance by the Dallas suburb of Farmers Branch that sought to bar landlords from renting to immigrants living in the U.S. without legal documentation.
The judges concluded that the ordinance illegally interfered with the federal government’s enforcement of immigration laws. The article noted that the suburbs received national attention after first attempting to enact the law in 2006, citing an influx of undocumented immigrants.
Attorney William “Bill” Brewer, who represented plaintiffs challenging the ordinance, said the law was motivated by community members who were apprehensive about the growing Latino population.
“It’s not within the power of a municipality to slow down or change the ethnic composition of their communities through an effort to regulate immigration,” he said.
Read more here.