Posted on 05/13/2008 8:20:21 AM PDT by devane617
A newly elected mayor near Dallas says his top priority will be ridding his suburb of illegal immigrants, the same focus that has drawn national attention in a neighboring city.
But Ron Branson said Carrollton will not simply copy the blueprint of Farmers Branch, where an ordinance barring apartment rentals to most illegal immigrants has been put on hold by a federal judge.
"I do not want to rubber-stamp what they did," Branson said in Monday's editions of The Dallas Morning News. "We want to make sure we're not profiling, we're following the law, and take advantage of ordinance opportunities."
The victory by Branson in Saturday's election gives Dallas neighboring suburbs with mayors who share a common goal of driving out illegal immigrants in their cities.
Voters in Farmers Branch on Saturday elected Tim O'Hare, who as a city councilman pushed for one of the country's most sweeping anti-illegal immigration measures by a local government.
Farmers Branch residents endorsed a rental ban 2-to-1 last May, but enforcement of the ordinance has been blocked by a federal judge until legal challenges are resolved. Branson said Carrollton should not implement similar ordinance now, but should be prepared to do so if courts clear the way.
Brandon said he also planned to visit regularly with O'Hare, who said he welcomed the meetings.
Allan Saxe, political science professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, said the election of the two new mayors shows that illegal immigration continues to resonate with voters.
But Saxe said he doesn't believe the elections will effect much change because the cities are already availing themselves of available federal programs.
"I don't think it will have great reverberations outside the area, except those members of Congress that represent those areas will take notice of it," Saxe said.
FYI...In this article you will see that the councilman from Farmers Branch that created the notoriety last year for his stance on illegals in his city, was elected Mayor of Farmers Branch, TX...
Dallas will be empty if they kick the illegals out.
My home town of Carrollton. Good job guys.
I live in CA now, where illegals are regularly catered to. .
The entire state of Texas would be desolate if they kicked out all illegals.
Interesting that this story is being reported in Brownsville. Ya think there’s a reason for that? /sarcasm
Say what? What part of Texas do you live in? The Metroplex will continue to thrive.
You say that as if it's a bad thing.
There are a lot of Hispanics in Texas who are multigenerational US citizens...not illegals. Yeah, there are illegals too but Texas has always had a large Hispanic/Mexican-American population generations back.
Don't know how you arrived at that conclusion.
A newly elected mayor near Dallas
In Dallas, near Dallas?
Hmmm. Seems someone was trying hard to associate this story with Dallas, where per capita crime rates are much higher than even Los Angeles.
Her Dad & I were happy, the fiance was an obnoxious liberal who drank the Koolaid being served at an elitist St. Louis University a/k/a Washington U, Olin School of Business.
Then you will miss a lot of them with that stupid policy.
Funny, I used to live off Marsh, too, and I also know a guy in Dallas who went to Washington U. But he is not a liberal or elitist.
I am originally from New Jersey.
I am NOT your daughters ex, I promise. LOL
Yep! The economy would improve greatly without these criminals feeding of our tax dollars.
No problem. Texans love open spaces!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.