Council members of a Dallas suburb have dismissed plans to create a citizens task force to target illegal immigration, in part because a neighboring city has been halted from enforcing immigration-related measures.
The Carrollton City Council could not agree on what the mission of the citizens task force would be, how many members it would have or how those members would be chosen. Instead, officials decided to let four council subcommittee members study illegal immigration.
"Why put people together for six months to meet every month to come up with things we may not be able to do legally, ever?" said council member Tim Hayden.
Neighboring suburb Farmers Branch has been in a nearly two-year legal fight over whether it can ban illegal immigrants from renting houses and apartment. It has never been able to enforce its measures.
"Watching the Farmers Branch case and what is constitutional or unconstitutional sort of sets the stage for what can and can't be done," Hayden said. "I didn't see a point in putting citizens through what may be just an exercise in the end."
The council decision halted plans by new Mayor Ron Branson to create the task force. He made fighting illegal immigration an issue during his campaign for the city office.
