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Texas town upholds immigration crackdown 
Farmers Branch 1st in nation to vote on measure prohibiting renting to illegals

 Farmers Branch voters' overwhelming embrace of a law to drive out illegal immigrants – which backers celebrated Saturday as "nothing but positive" – may lead to similar measures across North Texas and the nation, analysts say.

The nation's first vote on an ordinance targeting illegal immigrants by barring them from renting apartments highlighted a resentment of the federal government's failure to secure the nation's borders – and a desire to do something about it at the local level, said City Council member Tim O'Hare, who was the driving force behind the ordinance.

"They are saying loud and clear they want change in Farmers Branch," he said. "People recognize we have a problem, and they are proud we stood up. This is nothing but positive results for Farmers Branch."

 Mr. O'Hare's message that illegal immigrants are having a negative impact on neighborhoods, crime, property values and schools may soon be heard in other cities.

"I'd be shocked if I didn't see other cities follow suit," he said. "I've been contacted by representatives from other cities. Any city that wants to protect their town, give me a call, and let us work together."

Opponents of the ordinance said they will try to stop the ordinance in the courts, and despite their defeat, they say they will have an impact on the city in the future.

"Regardless of the results, this is only the beginning," said Ana Reyes. "The community outreach we're doing is going to empower the Hispanic community [to become citizens]. I want them to feel a sense of involvement in the city."

Matthew Wilson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University, said the implications of the Farmers Branch election may be felt more in cities elsewhere.

"Farmers Branch is a closed-in suburb of a major American city," Mr. Wilson said. "This is not some sort of remote, rural outpost. Farmers Branch is a pretty mainstream place, and if there is this level of anger about the immigration situation there, then what that suggests is there's probably a lot more of this kind of anger around the country."

And politicians may look to capitalize on the issue by taking similar tough local stances on illegal immigrants, he said.

Irving City Council candidate Tom Spink, who ran on an anti-illegal-immigrant platform, easily won election Saturday over longtime incumbent James Dickens.

And look for more anti-illegal-immigrant measures in Farmers Branch with the election Saturday of two new pro-ordinance council members, David Koch and Tim Scott. The City Council now has a solid majority committed to more ordinances targeting illegal immigrants. Both Mr. Koch and Mr. Scott have said they favor expanding the ban on renting apartments to illegal immigrants to all rental properties in the city and cracking down on businesses that hire illegal immigrants.

But with two lawsuits pending against the city, it could be years before the ordinance takes effect. Attorneys in those lawsuits are expected to immediately file requests from the courts for injunctions to stop the city from implementing the law on May 22, as planned.

Though other cities over the last year or so have adopted similar apartment ordinances, Farmers Branch is the first in Texas to do so, and the first nationwide to put the issue to a city vote.

The ordinance is modeled largely after one adopted by Hazleton, Pa., the first city to adopt a rental ban on illegal immigrants. That city also was sued. The case went to trial in the spring, but the judge has not issued a decision yet.

"You have cities all across the country responding to constituent demands," said Kris Kobach, a law professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He also is a constitutional law and immigration expert who defended Hazleton in court and helped Farmers Branch craft the ordinance that went to voters.

"These ordinances have proven very popular among city councils," Mr. Kobach said. "This shows the city councils are accurately responding to public opinion. ... A referendum is essentially a perfect public opinion survey because you're questioning the entire electorate."

One political analyst said that the impact might not be as great as it would have been several months ago.

Illegal immigration "is still a very live issue, but my sense is it doesn't have the forward momentum it had in the latter half of 2006, because it was then a signature issue of the Republican Party," Cal Jillson, also a political science professor at SMU, said last week.

A spokesman for Let the Voters Decide, a group that opposed the ordinance, also said the issue may not spread to other cities.

"We're disappointed in the result, but I think the campaign was successful in that it was able to elevate the level of debate about this ordinance and prove the many ways this ordinance is costly and ill-advised," said the spokesman, Travis Carter. "Because of our campaign, there isn't a community or city in North Texas that would think to support an ordinance like this."

The fiery debate drew charges of racism and accusations of voter intimidation and dissemination of wrong or misleading information on both sides both since last fall. Mayor Bob Phelps' house was vandalized twice, including once last week immediately after he announced his opposition to the ordinance.

It also thrust Mr. O'Hare, a native of the city, and Farmers Branch into the national spotlight. Anticipating the large turnout, Dallas County set up seven voting locations in the city for Saturday. Usually, the city of 28,500 has only one polling place. In the end, about 43 percent of 14,060 registered voters turned out and approved the referendum by a more than 2-to-1 margin.

Ordinance 2903 would require apartment management to obtain proof of citizenship or legal immigration status before entering into or renewing leases or rental agreements.

The only exception to the ban would be that mixed-status families could stay if they were already living in the apartment, the spouse or head of household is a citizen or here legally, and the household includes the head of household and spouse and their minor children or parents.