The Austin-based nonprofit trying to open a shelter to house migrant children east of downtown sued the city of Houston Friday, alleging a discriminatory, baseless and politically motivated campaign to prevent it from opening the facility.
Southwest Key Programs alleges in the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Houston, that the city is “manipulating” its permitting process, invalidating previously issued permits without due process and refusing to conduct inspections or issue new permits. The suit claims these actions are discriminatory based on some combination of the city’s opposition to federal immigration policies, interest in “political gain” or the race, color, national origin, ancestry, alienage or immigration status of the unaccompanied minors who would be housed there.
The lawsuit asks a court to grant Southwest Key monetary damages and declare that it can proceed with its plans to open the facility.
“The city of Houston has ignored its own regulations, and past practices, and has knowingly misrepresented the facts to the state of Texas to deny Southwest Key a license to open the facility,” Southwest Key said in a statement released Friday. “City officials bent the rules and broke the law for the sole purpose of advancing the mayor’s political agenda.”
[…]
“The city is only interested in the safety, security and well-being of children and will continue to enforce all building codes and regulations designed to accomplish that purpose,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a statement. “Southwest Key has repeatedly been asked to provide plans that meet existing building codes for the intended use of the facility at 419 Emancipation Street in Houston. They have failed to do so. Hopefully, they will realize that they are not exempt and must follow the rules like everyone else. We continue to wait for them to respond. In the meantime, we will review the pleading and respond accordingly.”
See here and here for the background, and here for the Mayor’s statement. I have no idea if Southwest Key’s claims have any validity, and to be honest I don’t care. Southwest Key can go fuck themselves.
Emancipation Street? Really?
Also, how many privately operated prison or detention facilities are in operation within the borders of the city of Houston? Is that really a thing that’s happened enough to set permitting precedent?
I and most people agree that you shouldn’t separate children from their parents over immigration issues.
I sure wish you guys would get fired up over things like a Judge in Galena Park that violates the rights of citizens every chance she gets. How about a Prosecutor in the City of Bellaire that routinely prosecutes people on stops made without probable cause. As to the City screwing over people on permits. Heck that is every day. Rich people hire major law firms and file federal lawsuits. Poor people hire me. What is the complaint? Just follow their rules.
Paul,
Haven’t you heard? You don’t need any probable cause to investigate people anymore. Mr. Mueller doesn’t have problems with that, you shouldn’t either. Stryzok and Page, Hell, even Comey have all testified there was nothing, no probable cause to start the SC investigation, but that didn’t stop anybody. It’s quaint you still believe in requiring probable cause for a warrant to be issued.
As to the whole issue of detaining illegals caught here, I have a solution. Convert one of the empty maquiladora factories on the border into a detention facility for Mexicans and OTM’s caught illegally entering the US, and we can pay Mexico to incarcerate them, while they go through the US legal process to be deported. They can house the kids and the adults together, and the illegal aliens won’t complain about being kept in the cold.
This will be much cheaper for the US and, it solves the problem of uncaring US detention companies benefiting off the suffering of the illegal aliens.
Surely we can all agree with that, and, since we will be housing the adults with the kids, that allows the kids to remain with the traffickers who got caught bringing them here, allowing them more time to be groomed for their eventual purpose.
Bill so if the police are chasing a person because he ran a red light and he runs into the house and they find drugs, bomb making equipment, and other illegal things they should ignore them and just arrest them for running a red light and trying to evade arrest.
Be serious, Trump, his family, and probably most of his friends are crooks, if Mueller finds crimes he should peruse them, also.
Pursue,
Another example, someone without documentation to be in the country legally, commits a serious crime, only that crime should be considered. Right Bill?
Manny,
Obama’s FBI/DoJ was chasing Trump because he won a nomination and then won an election. Neither of those things are crimes. Running a red light, in contrast, IS a crime.
In Mannyworld, if Manny thinks Bill and his friends are probably crooks, he starts spying and investigating them, without any more probable cause than Manny thinks Bill MUST have done something wrong, because Manny doesn’t like Bill, and Bill’s friends must be shit people, too.
Meanwhile in a world where we have a Constitution and constitutional protections from Lavrenty Beria “Show me the man, and I’ll find you the crime” style ‘justice,’ you don’t get to spy on and prosecute people just because you don’t like them.
The Obama DoJ spying operation is going to bust wide open when Trump declassifies the 4 FISA spy warrant applications against Page (and the two hops to him and his campaign). Add to that Stephan Halper and the other FBI spies embedded with Team Trump and…..it’s gonna be a wild ride. Buckle up.
In Bill’s world just like Trump’s world the Republicans can never be crooks.
What ever you do Bill you need to do less of it as you don’t make sense.
Even if, and that is one big F’ing big IF, if they were not crooks and criminals the investigation would not uncover criminal activity. They have all plead guilty Bill. Your are heroes are all crooks and criminals what does that say about you, Bill?
Trump asked the head of the FBI to stop the investigation of a person who has now plead guilty. When the Head of the FBI would not stop the investigation, he fired him.
Bill, your god will go down as the most crooked person to sit in the White House, if he does not wear an orange jumpsuit for the rest of his life it will only be because he makes a deal that allows him to live out his life in shame. He knows now shame but Barron will have that albatross around his neck. Expect he will change his name like Manaford daughter did.
He knows no shame – correction
Your heroes – correction
Wow, how many red lights did Manafort run to forfeit millions in real estate?
Manny,
I have a Jury trial set in Galena Park in early October. Do you wan to come witness this crap.
Jules,
You just proved my point. There was no probable cause that Manafort, or Trump, ran the initial red light. This Piss Dossier, and coordinated leaking OF the Piss Dossier by the FBI doesn’t rise to the level of probable cause to start digging. Similarly, Rod Rosenstein recommending in writing that Comey be fired, then promptly appointing Mueller because Trump fired Comey, as requested in writing by Rosenstein, doesn’t qualify as probable cause, either.
I don’t deny that Manafort is dirty. I’m sure he and all his business partners, including the Podestas, are all dirty. I also feel sure that by the time this is all over, Manafort will be exonerated, since all evidence of his tax evasion was fruit of the poisoned tree.
Lol. He shoulda talked to you before he pled guilty.
Paul old age and arthritis make it difficult to take to put my shoes back on, I don’t fly nor go to court unless it is an emergency.
I know there are bad judges and bad lawyers. I don’t think anyone has ever heard me state that Justice is blind nor fair.
Long long time ago, I thought about being an assistant D.A. but when interning there, the 1st chair said that God made it his duty to make sure that they all went to prison, I had a change of heart.
I never get picked for criminal jury because when they ask if the testimony of one eye witness is sufficient I always tell them NO that would not be enough.
But what am I to learn if I were to go?
Bill how dense are you, I hate to insult you but you make it too easy.
You do know that Manafort has pled guilty. If he was going to appeal he would not have raised his hand and sworn that he was guilty.
Back when I used to teach my students, primarily African American, would ask if the police had the right to tell them to open the trunk. I told them no they did not without a search warrant or probable cause, a traffic stop was not sufficient. Then I told them if you have noting to hide open it otherwise they will find a reason to arrest you and still look in the trunk.
Again Bill what type of person are you that your heroes all seem to be liars, crooks, and thieves?
I hope they win their lawsuit and appeal.
Manny,
I understand he plead guilty. That doesn’t mean the case can’t be overturned on appeal once the evidence gets tossed out as an illegal search. If there was no REAL probable cause to tap his phones and do the SWAT style guns blazing raids on his home and office, then all that evidence was illegally obtained. That is what I am telling you will put the nail into the Mueller coffin. The FISA court warrant applications, combined with all the unredacted and very incriminating e-mails from Team FBI are going to collapse the whole house of cards. If the initial search was bad, everything that came from it is also bad. The timeline of when everything transpired is also going to be damning……spying and wiretapping first, FISA warrant second, to try to prove something that even Stryzok says, “there’s really no there, there.”
As to my hero, it’s Trump, not Manafort. Trump’s doing what he campaigned on doing, and me and the other 63M Americans that voted for him are ‘gonna dance with the one that brung us.’
Bill you make it very very hard, is it that hard to accept that your heroes are all liars, crooks, and thieves, oh my!
If it is only Trump, then he is a liar, a crook and a thief.
Manafort already tried that, quit limiting yourself to all that fake news that you watch, they are controlled by the Russians.
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/26/judge-rejects-challenge-676814
When Trump is behind jail you can go visit and tell him how much you love him.
Manny,
Brace for impact. Here comes the pain:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-34/
Bill, I already knew it is a very limited DE-classification, wonder why. Every thing Mueller touches pleads guilty, what do you think the orange baboon will do? You know the one that craves his daughter.
You know you changed the topic Bill, guess you admitted you lost on that one about Manafort.
Trump is playing to his base and you are one of the base, very base. But the base keeps getting smaller and smaller.
Manny,
You still don’t get it, do you? Read his book. He’s already got you saying, “why just this, why not declassify more?” Guess what? That’s what he’s going to do, but he’s going to make YOU ask for it. Trump already knows about the whole coup d’etat. Admiral Rodgers alerted him in Trump tower he was being spied on.
Pro tip: You aren’t going to like what you hear. The most scandal free administration ever is going to have their big criminal conspiracy go prime time. Remember when Swalwell actually dared Trump to declassify? Remember when “The POTUS wants to know everything we’re doing?” LOL
“His judgement cometh, and that right soon.”
@Bill, most plea deals include a no appeal clause. No way the Feds give someone an out on a plea.
Bill, look at what is happening the walls are getting closer to Trump, in fact the Mexicans said they would pay for those walls.
What he always does is create something that will draw people attention to something else. Yesterday he added 200 billion tariffs to the Chinese, he declassified the documents, but he stayed pretty quiet about his supreme court pick.
You need to read more than the propaganda of the Russian station also known as Fox News.
Off Topic Bill, but maybe the size of the hands in relationship to another body part are related?
Daniels, in her book, describes Trump’s penis as “unusual” and with a “huge mushroom head, like a toadstool.” She also says it was “smaller than average” but “not freakishly small,” according to The Guardian.
“Read his book”. What book?
“The most scandal free administration ever is going to have their big criminal conspiracy go prime time.”
“The most scandal free administration ever” ? I think I did an Emmy/Oscar-award worthy spit take when I read that one. Fighting the scandals has been job one since Nov 2016/Jan 2017.