FARMERS BRANCH, Texas (AP) - The Farmers Branch City Council has voted to pay $1.4 million to end its yearslong defense of a failed ordinance that would have banned immigrants in the U.S. illegally from renting apartments.
Lawyers for critics of the 2008 measure, which was never enforced, sought more than $3.1 million. The amount approved Tuesday was reached via mediation, The Dallas Morning News (https://bit.ly/1jQs6US ) reported.
The 5th U.S. Court of Appeals last July ruled the ordinance unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court in March declined to hear an appeal from Farmers Branch. The high court has held since 2012 that immigration issues are largely a matter for federal agencies, not local governments, to regulate.
Farmers Branch spent more than $6 million on immigration-related lawsuits and other efforts while trying to ban property rentals by those living in the U.S. illegally.
Junie Smith, a former council member, helped initiate legal action against the ordinance.
“I don’t see anything positive from this. Period.” Smith said. “I wish it almost never happened. It’s over, and it’s time to move forward. I was repulsed by the whole thing.”
William A. Brewer III, with the law firm that took on Farmers Branch, said the legal battle should prevent other politicians from pursuing similar measures.
“As this case comes to a final resolution, we hope that other cities will view what happened here as a cautionary tale,” Brewer said.
In 2012, a federal judge sided with Hispanic plaintiffs in a Voting Rights Act lawsuit and established single-member city council districts. Ana Reyes last year became the first Hispanic to win a seat on the Farmers Branch City Council in the new format.
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Information from: The Dallas Morning News, https://www.dallasnews.com
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