Opponents sue to stop Texas city's immigration law

DALLAS (AP) - Opponents of a Dallas suburb's latest effort to force out illegal immigrants filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to stop a city ban on apartment and home rentals to tenants who can't prove they are legally in the country.

The filing in federal court seeks to prevent Farmers Branch from requiring prospective renters to obtain a license from the city. Information from the license application would be forwarded to the federal government for verification of a tenant's legal immigration status.

In the lawsuit, attorneys representing a group of apartment complex operators and a former Farmers Branch council member contend the city is trying to regulate immigration despite it being the domain of the federal government. They also claim the ordinance fails to include clear, detailed procedures and safeguards and places a burden and liability on landlords.

Opponents also allege the city is violating federal housing laws by trying to deny a dwelling to a person based on ethnicity and national origin. The suit contends the new ordinance is part of a bigger attempt by Farmers Branch officials to push out Hispanic residents.

Opponents will ask for a temporary restraining order on Thursday to prevent the rule from taking effect Sept. 13, said attorney Bill Brewer, who represents opponents of the rule.

City officials approved the latest ordinance so that it would go into effect 15 days after a judge's final ruling throwing out a previous ban; that ruling came Friday. The earlier ban was similar but placed the burden of checking prospective tenants' residency status on landlords rather than the city.

Under the new city rule, the Farmers Branch building inspector would ask U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to check the status of thousands of renters using the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements. The database is used by government agencies to look up whether the immigration status of a person entitles them to a state or federal benefit, but it is not a complete collection of information on the many types of legal immigrants.

Officials with Citizenship and Immigration Services have said the city first must seek an agreement with the agency for Farmers Branch workers to access the database. Farmers Branch is not currently participating in either the SAVE database or E-Verify program, which is used by employers to check whether new hires are entitled to work in the U.S.

Attorney Michael Jung, who represents Farmers Branch, said federal officials told the city to resubmit its application to use the database when the ordinance took effect.

The ordinance tries to deter illegal immigration, but Jung said it is not part of an effort to discriminate against Hispanics.

"We're anxious to move along, have the new ordinance go into effect and to have the court challenge resolved as quickly as possible," he said.