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Gothmog

(144,005 posts)
Wed Mar 21, 2012, 10:12 PM Mar 2012

5th Cir. Upholds ban on Texas immigrant housing law

The idiot Sec. of State for Kansas wrote both Arizona 1070 and a bill to make it illegal to rent or live in a small town near Dallas. A federal judge held that this law was unconstitutional and to my surprise the 5th Cir. upheld this ruling http://www.chron.com/news/article/Court-upholds-ban-on-Texas-immigrant-housing-law-3424959.php

A federal appeals court Wednesday upheld a lower court ruling that stopped a Dallas suburb's ban on illegal immigrants seeking housing.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Farmers Branch overstepped its authority in 2008 when it passed a law calling on the city's building inspector to check the immigration status of anyone wanting to rent an apartment who wasn't a U.S. citizen.

Under the law, illegal immigrants would have been barred from rental housing, and landlords who knowingly allowed them to stay could have their rental licenses barred.


The law is clearly unconstitutional and I am glad that the 5th Cir. made the correct ruling. The poor town of Farmers Branch has wasted a great deal of taxpayer money defending this stupidity.

William Brewer, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said he sensed a "strong undercurrent" throughout the appellate court's decision that Farmers Branch was engaged in discrimination. The ruling is particularly meaningful because the 5th Circuit has a reputation for conservatism, he said.

Brewer noted that the ruling affirms Boyle's decision that Farmers Branch must pay the plaintiffs' attorney fees, which before the appeal were nearly $2 million. He called that portion of the decision "a strong deterrent" against other cities seeking to pass similar laws.

"Clearly, both the trial court and the appellate court recognize that this ordinance was discriminatory," Brewer said.


$2 million in plaintiff attorney fees is on top the fees that the city had to pay. I wish that the city of Farmers Branch would sue the idiot Sec. of State of Kansas for the money wasted here.
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sonias

(18,063 posts)
1. Not sure I pity "poor town of Farmers Branch"
Wed Mar 21, 2012, 11:20 PM
Mar 2012

I think they got what was coming to them. They learned their lesson the hard way. It cost them!

Vogon_Glory

(9,086 posts)
3. I Remember Reading That The Original Idea Was To Promote White-Out
Thu Mar 22, 2012, 11:01 AM
Mar 2012

I remember reading in the Dallas Observer that the original impetus for this piece of legislation was a desire to "whiten up" Farmer's Branch. According to the article, the guys who first thought up this notion were members of the same church, wanted to remake Farmer's Branch into something more like the wealthier parts of Richardson and Plano, and decided that trying to force those declasse people of Mexican descent to leave would be a jim-dandy way to turn their fantasy into reality.

I also think I read that another notion of theirs was to try and force homeowners to repaint their houses in dull colors, their thinking being that since Hispanics supposedly preferred brighter colors, they'd feel less welcome and would *go away*.

I understand that a lot of the people who thought up the city council law are currently suffering convenient bouts of memory-loss.

COLGATE4

(14,732 posts)
4. He isn't just the 'idiot Sec of State for Kansas'
Thu Mar 22, 2012, 11:24 AM
Mar 2012

This pernicious son of a bitch (Kris Kobach) is a close confidant and right hand man to John Ascroft, where he perfected his anti immigrant bona fides. He is instrumental in giving legal advice and drafing expertise to all the entities that want to harrass and otherwise intimidate undocumented people here in the US, starting with his little experiment in Hazleton, PA several years ago (the first city to actively employ all these draconian measures). He is a true star in the firmament of RW Xian crazies and a man to be taken very seriously. The damage he has done is incalculable, and its full impact has not yet been felt.

Gothmog

(144,005 posts)
5. I see that you are another non-fan of this idiot from Kansas
Thu Mar 22, 2012, 12:36 PM
Mar 2012

Kobach is also one of the authors and advocates of voter id laws. I really think that Kobach is an idiot.

COLGATE4

(14,732 posts)
6. I think he's a very dangerous idiot. He's the
Fri Mar 23, 2012, 12:06 AM
Mar 2012

intellectual inspiration for all the RW crazies who want to deport anyone who isn't white, Xian, Protestant and hopefully Baptist.

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