DALLAS (AP) _ A Dallas suburb’s city council has voted to appeal a judge’s ruling that struck down the city’s ordinance banning illegal immigrants from renting apartments.
The Farmers Branch City Council voted 5-0 Tuesday night to proceed with an appeal with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. City spokesman Tom Bryson says the vote came after just over an hour’s discussion between council members and the audience.
The Dallas suburb has tried for years to enforce a ban on landlords renting to illegal immigrants, and a similar ordinance had been struck down before.
In March, U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle of Dallas ruled the latest ordinance was an attempt to enforce U.S. immigration laws, which she said was exclusively a federal duty.
She issued a permanent injunction barring the city from enforcing the ordinance.