Search Results for: farmers branch

SCOTUS declines to hear Farmers Branch appeal

By all rights, this story should now be at an end. The U.S. Supreme Court brought closure Monday to the seven-year legal battle in Farmers Branch over a local ordinance that sought to ban landlords from renting property to people … Continue reading

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Farmers Branch still hasn’t learned

There’s stubborn, there’s mulishly stubborn, and then there’s Farmers Branch. The City Council is not ready to give up its fight to ban immigrants in the U.S. illegally from renting in the city. The council voted 3-2 Tuesday night to … Continue reading

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Farmers Branch loses again

Same story, next chapter. The Farmers Branch ordinance barring people in the U.S. illegally from renting in the city is unconstitutional, an appeals court ruled for the second time Monday. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans … Continue reading

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Getting out the “hard-to-motivate Latino vote” in Farmers Branch

Great story about Ana Reyes, the first Hispanic person elected to City Council in Farmers Branch, in the first election after a lawsuit forced the city to adopt single-member Council districts, and how she actually got elected. “What happened here … Continue reading

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Ana Reyes makes history in Farmers Branch

I didn’t pay much attention to Saturday’s elections, since there was nothing on the ballot for me and there were few races of interest around the state. One place where there were races worth watching was in Farmers Branch, and … Continue reading

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Single member districts for Farmers Branch

Another long battle comes to an end. A Dallas federal judge has directed Farmers Branch to implement single-member City Council districts after the U.S. Justice Department signed off on the city’s proposed map. The move could set the stage for … Continue reading

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Fifth Circuit will re-hear the Farmers Branch lawsuit again

I have an uneasy feeling about this. Farmers Branch was sued four years ago after it passed an ordinance allowing the city building inspector to evict any illegal immigrant renters. Its case will now go before the full membership of … Continue reading

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Fifth Circuit rules against Farmers Branch

I almost missed this. A federal appeals court has upheld the ruling that struck down a Farmers Branch renters ordinance aimed at banning illegal immigrants from rental housing in the city. The decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of … Continue reading

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Time for a change in Farmers Branch

Good riddance. Farmers Branch Mayor Tim O’Hare announced this morning that he will not seek re-election in this suburb that gained national fame for its stance on illegal immigration. […] O’Hare did not endorse any candidates for mayor but attending … Continue reading

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Tomball declines to be like Farmers Branch

I’m stunned. Pleased, but stunned. The Tomball City Council late Tuesday defeated a proposal to make English the city’s official language and voted down another measure seeking to prohibit illegal immigrants from renting or owning property or owning or operating … Continue reading

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Another lawsuit against Farmers Branch over City Council districts

Trying again to force the city of Farmers Branch to create single member City Council districts. The suit seeks an end at-large voting for City Council seats, arguing that the current method dilutes Hispanic voting strength. Nearly half the city … Continue reading

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Farmers Branch prepares to waste more money

It sure must be nice to have all these taxpayer dollars to spend on such frivolities. [Farmers Branch] plans to appeal a court ruling against its ordinance, which would prevent landlords from renting houses or apartments to illegal immigrants — … Continue reading

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The legal bills keep piling up in Farmers Branch

Ka-ching! The Bickel & Brewer Storefront law firm submitted a bill for $850,000 this week in federal court for its share of costs in the successful challenge to the constitutionality of the ordinance. A second legal team is expected to … Continue reading

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Farmers Branch loses in court yet again

Yet another loss in court for the city of Farmers Branch and its efforts to make apartment owners check potential renters’ immigration status. The City of Farmers Branch enacted ordinance 2952 in 2008 but today’s decision in the U.S. District … Continue reading

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Farmers Branch single member Council district lawsuit appealed to SCOTUS

A lawsuit on behalf of three Hispanic plaintiffs in Farmers Branch to force the creation of single-member City Council districts, which was filed last April and dismissed in November, will be appealed to the Supreme Court after the Fifth Circuit … Continue reading

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Villafranca loses in Farmers Branch

Back in March, I noted that businesswoman Elizabeth Villafranca, one of the leading voices in Farmers Branch against its anti-immigrant xenophobia, was running for City Council there. Alas, she did not win. Among other municipal races from Saturday, a leading … Continue reading

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Activist running in Farmers Branch

Via Stace, I see that one of the leaders in the fight against xenophobia in Farmers Branch is a on the ballot for City Council there. Business owner and activist Elizabeth Villafranca [announced] her candidacy Monday afternoon. Villafranca, an outspoken … Continue reading

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Activist running in Farmers Branch

Via Stace, I see that one of the leaders in the fight against xenophobia in Farmers Branch is a on the ballot for City Council there. Business owner and activist Elizabeth Villafranca [announced] her candidacy Monday afternoon. Villafranca, an outspoken … Continue reading Continue reading

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Yet another Farmers Branch lawsuit

Seems to be a growth industry in that town. A former Farmers Branch City Council member filed a lawsuit against the city Wednesday, asking a state district judge in Dallas to order the city to turn over invoices for legal … Continue reading Continue reading

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Is the light beginning to dawn on Farmers Branch?

Could be. Farmers Branch officials are backing away from vows to go as far as the U.S. Supreme Court to defend a voter-approved ban on apartment rentals to illegal immigrants. The city instead is relying on a replacement ordinance designed … Continue reading Continue reading

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Farmers Branch restrained again

Is it just me, or is the main business of Farmers Branch these days defending itself against lawsuits? Latino advocates and a civil liberties group are suing a Dallas suburb whose officials want to oust illegal immigrants by checking the … Continue reading Continue reading

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Once more to the courthouse for Farmers Branch

Here we go again. Opponents of a Dallas suburb’s latest effort to drive away illegal immigrants asked a federal judge Monday to restrain Farmers Branch officials from enforcing a ban on rental housing to people who can’t prove they are … Continue reading Continue reading

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Final judgment against Farmers Branch

That headline sounds more apocalyptic than I intend for it to be, but it’s just a reference to the fact that U.S. District Court Judge Sam Lindsay entered a final judgment striking down Ordinance 2903, the law in Farmers Branch … Continue reading Continue reading

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Judge strikes down Farmers Branch anti-immigrant law

Good. U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay issued a permanent injunction barring the city from implementing Ordinance 2903, which voters approved 2-to-1 in May 2007. But the newer version of the effort, Ordinance 2952, remains and is slated to go into … Continue reading Continue reading

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Hispanic candidates in Farmers Branch and Irving

I give these candidates a lot of credit for guts. Hispanic residents making their first run for office are on Saturday’s ballot for City Council in Farmers Branch and Irving, where illegal immigration is a major issue. […] Farmers Branch … Continue reading Continue reading

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Another lawsuit against Farmers Branch

This time it’s over their at-large City Council system, which the plaintiffs claim dilutes Hispanic voting strength. Their attorneys, Rolando Rios of San Antonio and Domingo Garcia of Dallas, drew up a set of single-members districts that they contend would … Continue reading Continue reading

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Another Farmers Branch lawsuit

Another lawsuit has been filed against Farmers Branch and its continuing anti-immigrant assault, this one on the grounds that its City Council violated open meetings laws when it considered the new ordinance that banned undocumented aliens from renting apartments or … Continue reading Continue reading

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Farmers Branch asks judge to okay new ordinance

As we know, the city of Farmers Branch passed a new ordinance to restrict undocumented immigrants from renting apartments, with the burden of verifying the applicants’ status falling on the city. They did that in an effort to bypass the … Continue reading Continue reading

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Farmers Branch does it again

We knew it was coming, and now here it is: Farmers Branch passed another ordinance aimed at undocumented immigrants and rental housing. City officials whose previous attempts to keep out illegal immigrants have been blocked by the courts took another … Continue reading Continue reading

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Another step towards the cliff for Farmers Branch

You almost have to admire their perverse level of determination. The Dallas suburb that jumped into the nationwide debate over immigration plans to take up another law to force out undocumented immigrants. The Farmers Branch City Council plans to consider … Continue reading Continue reading

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Farmers Branch loses another one in court

We know that an injunction has been issued against the city of Farmers Branch, which prevents them from enforcing their ordinance requiring landlords to verify renters’ immigration status. There were other lawsuits filed against that city related to that law, … Continue reading Continue reading

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Farmers Branch, this may be your life

What happens when you succeed in driving illegal immigrants out of your town? A lot of small businesses suffer. RIVERSIDE, N.J., Sept. 25 — A little more than a year ago, the Township Committee in this faded factory town became … Continue reading Continue reading

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Farmers Branch seeks a makeover

Sometimes, these things just write themselves. Farmers Branch is suffering an identity crisis. So say city leaders who are on a mission to come up with a brand, an identity or an event – something that people will come to … Continue reading Continue reading

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Farmers Branch and Hazelton

At last, we have an official injunction against the anti-immigrant ordinance in Farmers Branch, to replace the existing temporary restraining order. Agreeing with lawyers for residents and apartment owners who sued, U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay wrote that the measure … Continue reading Continue reading

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