Federal Judge Sam Lindsay’s smackdown of Farmers Branch and its anti-illegal immigration law came as no surprise.
Months ago, the judge minced no words when he issued a preliminary injunction, forbidding the city from enforcing the law. It sought to restrict illegal immigrants from renting homes. The judge’s ruling Wednesday made that temporary injunction permanent.
Judge Lyndsay summed up a long written order by saying it’s the federal government’s sole responsibility to enforce the nation’s immigration laws and determine who is here legally.
Both sides are very passionate in this debate, so that makes it an interesting story to cover. And I’ve been there from the beginning, when then-city councilman Tim O’Hare first brought up his controversial idea and the issue exploded, landing Farmers Branch in the national spotlight.
Now, Councilman O’Hare is Mayor O’Hare, and he won with widespread support of the city’s voters.
Critics say it’s not only unconstitutional, but also a waste of money. They say taxpayers have doled out more than a million dollars for lawyers to defend an ordinance which has never been enforced and may never be. Mayor O’Hare says the correct figure is more like $700,000.
Whatever the exact number, a hundred thousand here and a hundred thousand there adds up. And the legal fees won’t get any cheaper if it goes all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which it could.
I wonder if backers of the crackdown will decide at some point that it’s just not worth the cost, especially with no guarantee of an ultimate victory.
A lot of other cities are watching. The new mayor of Carrollton, for example, is in touch with O’Hare and is interested in cracking down on illegal immigrants in that city. But it’s taxpayers in Farmers Branch who will foot the legal bill for now.
They say there are two sides to every story. I don’t know if that’s true, but it sure is in this case.
It’ll be a fascinating legal fight to watch, and we’ll try to continue to provide people with unbiased reporting all the way. We give you both sides. You decide who’s right.
Gordon Gabs 