SCOTUS Bypasses Farmers Branch Immigration Rental Case
WASHINGTON (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — The Supreme Court will not hear arguments regarding the ban that would prevent illegal immigrants from renting housing in Farmers Branch.
The justices declined to take up the appeal filed by Farmers Branch after lower courts blocked the ordinances regulating rental housing. The city's ordinance would have required all renters to obtain licenses. The building inspector would check an immigrant's status, and landlords who allowed immigrants without permits would have faced fines or revoked renters' licenses.
SCOTUS also declined to hear a similar case from Hazelton, Pa., which also involved an ordinance that would have denied permits to businesses that hired people who are in the U.S. illegally.
The Supreme Court held in 2012 that immigration is primarily a matter for the federal government, ruling out most local and state laws targeting illegal immigration.
The decision by the Supreme Court not to hear the Farmers Branch appeal ends a nearly seven-year and multi-million dollar fight by the city to block illegal immigrants from obtaining housing. After the most recent ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in August 2013, city council voted 3-2 to appeal to the Supreme Court.
(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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