Dallas – Two civil rights groups filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging a suburb’s new law that outlaws renting to illegal immigrants, alleging the ordinance violates federal law and forces landlords to act as immigration officers.
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union filed the suit on behalf of Farmers Branch residents and landlords.
Plaintiffs include landlords, Latino legal residents and U.S. citizen children who fear the ordinance will force them to separate from relatives or leave their homes, the suit said.
In November, City Council members unanimously approved having property managers or owners verify the immigration or citizenship status of apartment renters. Property managers or owners who break the rule face a misdemeanor charge punishable by a fine of up to $500.
The law, along with a measure making English the city’s official language, takes effect Jan. 12.
The lawsuit claims the ordinance would allow exclusion of legal immigrants and citizens from renting in the city. It would mean everyone must carry a birth certificate or passport, said Marti Garza, program director of the ACLU.
Attorneys who filed the suit say they believe the ordinance is also flawed because it attempts to regulate immigration, a duty that is exclusively the federal government’s.
Farmers Branch spokesman Tom Bryson said the city would not comment.
