On December 26, 2006, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) filed suit in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas to block enforcement of a town ordinance passed by the Dallas suburb of Farmers Branch. The law required apartment renters to show proof of US residency and penalized landlords who rent to illegal immigrants. The complaint alleged that federal immigration law preempts state and local ordinances aimed at regulating immigration, and that the law as drafted is impermissibly vague. The court later held that the law was unconstitutional.

Learn more about immigration law in the US from the JURIST news archive.