Last week I wrote that that local governments should have broader authority than the federal government, and this example of a federal court striking down a local anti-illegal-immigration law demonstrates my underlying point exactly.
FARMERS BRANCH, Texas (AP) -- A Dallas suburb's ban on apartment rentals to illegal immigrants, an ordinance passed by city leaders and later endorsed in a vote by its residents, is unconstitutional, a federal judge found Wednesday.Only the federal government can regulate immigration, U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay concluded in his decision.
The city didn't defer to the federal government on the matter, violating the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, which allows for the federal government to pre-empt local laws, Lindsay said.
The citizens of the city have essentially no recourse. The apparently large majority who favored the law will go ignored in their own home, subjected to the politics and whims of a distant authority. They could appeal to the courts or to their political representatives, but everyone knows their pleas would go unheard.
On the other hand, when municipalities enact "sanctuary city" policies that explicitly thwart federal immigration laws, the courts are nowhere to be found. I wouldn't object to sanctuary cities for illegal immigrants so vehemently if we citizens were allowed to have sanctuaries of our own. But the almighty courts say no.
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