Yesterday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked a law in Farmers Branch, Texas, that requires that housing inspectors check the immigration status of anyone renting an apartment. The law would have made it illegal for undocumented immigrants to rent apartments in that city.
Next month, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on Arizona’s “Show Me Your Papers Law,” SB 1070. So far, all the decisions on local and state anti-immigrant laws point to the unconstitutionality of most or all of SB 1070. However, with a sharp ideological split on the court, conservative justices may just ignore precedent and uphold the law. If that happens, we could potentially see two dozen states rapidly adopt laws similar to the one enjoined in Farmers Branch.
Image courtesy of Daquella manera via Flickr.
