5th Cir. Upholds ban on Texas immigrant housing law [View all]

[Gothmog]

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.