More good news....did you hear about this?

Question

http://www.newsday.com/

Associated Press Writer

November 12, 2006, 3:42 PM EST

FARMERS BRANCH, Texas -- This Dallas suburb could become the first city in Texas to adopt a sweeping ordinance intended to keep out illegal immigrants, a cause for concern among its large minority population.

More than 50 municipalities nationwide have considered, passed or rejected laws banning landlords from leasing to illegal immigrants, penalizing businesses that employ undocumented workers and making English the local official language.

But until now, that trend hasn't been matched in the Lone Star State.

"This is the first town in Texas that had the guts to do what's right," Susie Hart, who grew up in Farmers Branch, said during a recent demonstration outside City Hall. "The education system is tanking, health care has gone through the roof, everybody is bilingual."

Such sentiments and the proposed ordinance trouble many people in Texas, where many Latino families can trace their roots here to the era before statehood.

"This is not just a Farmers Branch problem," Elizabeth Villafranca said of the proposal.

Villafranca, whose family owns a Mexican restaurant in Farmers Branch, said she worries that such laws will spread to other cities if the City Council approves the proposal. The measure is expected to be submitted to the council on Monday, but there was no indication when it might be put to a vote.

Since 1970, Farmers Branch has changed from a small, predominantly white bedroom community with a declining population to a city of almost 28,000 people, about 37 percent of them Hispanic, according to the census.

It also is home to more than 80 corporate headquarters and more than 2,600 small and mid-size firms, many of them minority-owned.

The local debate over illegal immigration began in August and spawned demonstrations by both sides of the issue. Council members adopted a resolution criticizing the federal government for not aggressively addressing the issue.

A councilman has given city attorneys drafts of an ordinance that would make English the city's official language and proposals to fine companies and landlords who do business with illegal immigrants.

The Farmer's Branch proposal follows a vote this year in Hazleton, Pa., to fine landlords who rent to illegal immigrants, deny business permits to companies that employ them and require tenants to register and pay for a rental permit. However, a federal judge temporarily blocked enforcement of the Hazleton ordinance while he considers a lawsuit against the town by the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups.

More than a dozen other Pennsylvania cities have taken up similar ordinances, as have several others in the South and a handful in California.

Many of the towns and counties have based their ordinances on a model provided by the Immigration Reform Law Institute, which favors limits on immigration and is affiliated with the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

"They've all expressed a great deal of frustration with the failure of the federal government to respond" to illegal immigration, said Mike Hethmon, the institute's general counsel.

Critics fear the spread of anti-illegal immigration rules will lead to sanctioned discrimination and racism.

"It's basically saying those people are illegal in their very nature; it is all right to be against them because they are lawbreakers. Many people are assuming that all immigrants are lawbreakers, and that people who are different, who speak a different language, are to be shunned," said Cesar Perales, president and general counsel of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund

Miss Erin, are you speaking from personal experience?

Answer 1

HEY !!!
ISN'T THE WAR AGAINST THE TERRORIST MORE IMPORTANT !!!
PLUS I HAVEN'T HEARD FARM WORKERS BOMBING AND BEHEADING PEOPLE !!!

Answer 2

ok why is it that when someone mentions a city that is debating passing a law like this most anti's jump on the bandwagon like it alread has been passed. its still going to be debated,don't start celebrating yet. on the other hand when pro's did the same thing in regards to the dems winning the majority in congress half of the anti's threw a fit and said it wasn't over yet. so i suppose this seems and appropriate answer now. do not count your chickens before they are hatched.

Answer 3

I love this about America. It is clear we are fed up with the non-sense that goes hand in hand with illegal aliens. Good for the smart and seemingly law abiding people of Farmers branch. As for the federal government, I think they are finally starting to see that Americans and Legal immigrants pay their salary and they are there to represent Americans not illegal aliens.

Answer 4

I only hope this gos on all over the U S A, if our country will not stand up to law breakers, we will. We Americans learn at a young age to respect our laws, and that in every thing we do in life there are rules to live by. And everyone who comes to our country must live by our laws as well.

Answer 5

Farmer's Branch is a hick town - I wouldn't be surprised if they outlawed all African-Americans and Asians next. I think all they're going to end up doing is trying at some point to kick out a person who's a legitimate U.S. Citizen, get the city sued, and wind up having to pay him/her a TON of money out of the city budget that could have gone for something that was actually NEEDED. Totally stupid law - I'm SOOOOOOO glad I left Texas.

Answer 6

This needs to be adopted by every town, city and community in America.

Thank you for another fantastic post. Keep up the great work, you are a real Patriot!

Answer 7

I have a better idea, how about putting more Mexicans to work?... We could legalize hemp and build about 30 thousand methane and methanol gas plants around the country, we could also build textile and synthetics plants, all of which would make us energy efficient, economically stable, it would add oxygen, clean the carbon out of our atmosphere to at least slow down global warming and it could end terrorism by not buying their oil (keeping our noses out of the affairs of other countries wouldn't hurt either)

Answer 8

Do you call this Good News?

I think different then... Good news could be hear that Bush is not killing people anymore.. That our schools are better and our people don't kill each other just for a stupid idea, those are good news and not bullsht....

Have a nice day!

Answer 9

Sounds like good news to me. A city trying to uphold the law is always good news.

Answer 10

Yes, good news from Dallas.

Answer 11

I hope this spreads throughout the rest of Texas and catches on in all the other States! This is very good news, indeed! Thanks again!