Farmers Branch Speaks Up

You must be law-abiding. Imagine that:

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 ordinance requires apartment managers to verify that renters are U.S. citizens or legal immigrants before leasing to them, with some exceptions.

Now a few details:

The city was already facing four lawsuits brought by civil rights groups, residents, property owners and businesses who contend the ordinance discriminates and that it places landlords in the precarious position of acting as federal immigration officers. Their attorneys say the ordinance attempts to regulate immigration, a duty that is exclusively the federal government's. One lawsuit also alleges the council violated the state open meetings act when deciding on the ordinance.

Let's take these one at a time.

The ordinance discriminates.

No, the ordinance does not discriminate. It only requires that any person renting in Farmers Branch be legally in the United States and makes no distinction between them being Mexican, Asian, African, male or female, Catholic or Jew, straight, transgendered, lesbian or homosexual. There is no race, religon, or sexual preference in this new ordinance.

It places landlords in the precarious position of acting as federal immigration officers.

No, it only requires the additional check as to the applicant's legal status through the usual process... drivers license, passport, green card... whatever, even less difficult than checking their credit worthiness. Applicant's often get turned down because of a poor credit rating. In this case they would just get turned down for not having proof of citizenship or legal status. They wouldn't even get reported.

The ordinance attempts to regulate immigration.

Silly. The ordinance only requires that landlords check applicants for their legal status.

The council violated the state open meetings act when deciding on the ordinance.

The voters--the legal citizens of Farmers Branch--decided the issue. The council did not "decide" anything, other than to put the issue to public vote.

Nothing wrong with being here in America for the opportunities this country offers. But don't start off by breaking our laws.

Don't sneak in like a thief in the night. Get here legally, or stay the hell out.

And learn our language.