[JURIST] The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) and American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Texas (ACLU-Texas) [advocacy websites] won a temporary restraining order [PDF text; MALDEF press release] from the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas Monday, blocking the enforcement of an anti-illegal immigration city ordinance [DOC text] that was scheduled to take effect Tuesday in Farmers Branch, Texas. The MALDEF and ACLU-Texas said that they will continue with their earlier lawsuit [JURIST report] filed on December 26, 2006, on behalf of residents and landlords maintaining that the ordinance violates federal immigration law and violates the fundamental rights of both landlords and tenants.

The ordinance, approved by voters [JURIST report] earlier in May, requires apartment renters to demonstrate proof of US-residency and penalizes landlords who rent to illegal immigrants [JURIST news archive]. Landlords who do not comply with the law face fines up to $500. The ordinance is a revision of an earlier ordinance that was set to take effect in January [JURIST reports]. AP has more.