Editorial: Residents see the folly of anti-immigrant law
January 7, 2007
Promoting fear under the guise of law and order, communities have adopted anti-immigrant ordinances throughout the nation. Farmers Branch, a community north of Dallas, was responsible for one of the most recent misguided efforts.
Written by Editorial, San Antonio Express-News
Promoting fear under the guise of law and order, communities have adopted anti-immigrant ordinances throughout the nation.
Farmers Branch, a community north of Dallas, was responsible for one of the most misguided efforts, requiring landlords to establish citizenship or legal status for each member of a family planning to live at rental properties.
That was bad enough, but when the local government also established English as the "official" language, its real intent became clear — an insidious attempt to divide Anglo from Hispanic, regardless of whether those Hispanics are here legally.
If a broken immigration system cannot stem the tide of undocumented workers, landlords should not be expected to shoulder the burden, to do what federal officials have been unable — or unwilling — to do.
Civil rights groups, seeing the folly and danger of such a practice, recently filed a lawsuit to challenge the ban on renting apartments to undocumented workers, alleging the ordinance forces landlords to act as immigration officers, according to the Associated Press.
Perhaps even more encouragingly, community members have mounted a successful petition drive to force the City Council to repeal the measure or put it to a city vote.
Petitioners gathered at least 908 valid signatures, about 200 more than the required number, a city official told reporters.
The council is scheduled to discuss the petition at its meeting Monday, city spokesman Tom Bryson told the Associated Press.
During that meeting, city officials should agree to rescind the punitive measure before it goes to the people; the community should not have to vote on what is simple, common sense.
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