FARMERS BRANCH, Texas (AP) — The council member who steered his Dallas suburb into the nationwide political debate over immigration says his campaign to force out illegal aliens began with late-night drives around his hometown.
Tim O’Hare said he saw too many people crowding into unkempt homes, upscale houses languishing on the market and empty storefronts throughout this city of about 28,000.
“The retail spots … for every two that went vacant, one would be filled by a Spanish-speaking business; then you … saw what was once a really, really, really nice neighborhood start to decline,” said Mr. O’Hare, 37.
Mr. O’Hare, a first-term City Council member and personal injury lawyer, thinks those issues could be resolved if illegal immigrants left Farmers Branch.
Last summer, Mr. O’Hare began pushing the city to enact one of the most sweeping anti-illegal-alien measures in the U.S.
Council members — several attend church with Mr. O’Hare — unanimously approved an ordinance last winter requiring apartment managers to make sure renters are U.S. citizens or legal immigrants before leasing to them, with few exceptions. Farmers Branch residents endorsed the ordinance by a 2-to-1 margin in May, the nation’s first public vote on a local government measure meant to combat illegal aliens.
“It’s going to make our school system better, it’s going to lead to retail and commercial redevelopment and it’s going to lead to neighborhood revitalization,” Mr. O’Hare said.
Critics say Mr. O’Hare has no research to back up his claim that illegal aliens are to blame for his city’s perceived problems. In fact, statistics show that the city’s crime rate has been falling, property values have increased and the state has given its schools the second-highest rating possible.
“The … things he said turned out to be lies, and he knows he’s lying,” said resident Christopher McGuire, who campaigned against the ordinance.
No one disputes that Farmers Branch has changed since Mr. O’Hare grew up here in a tiny house, raised by a single mom. Immigrants — legal, illegal and many of them Hispanic — have moved into what once was a predominantly white community with a declining population.
Mr. O’Hare said many do not learn English, are not loyal to the U.S. and don’t pay their fair share of taxes.
“Then I found out that the school district is spending umpteen million dollars of taxpayer money to build a school whose sole purpose is to teach kids English,” he said. “Well, that’s not fair … when that 14 million bucks should be spent for every kid in the district, and it shouldn’t be spent to make this person better suited to get a job than the people who have been here and paid their taxes all along.”
The debate has generated shouting matches among neighbors and left the city mired in lawsuits. For now, a federal judge has blocked Farmers Branch from enforcing the law until the case goes to trial or is otherwise resolved.
Still, the ordinance has made clear that illegal aliens aren’t welcome in Farmers Branch, Mr. O’Hare said. He thinks that’s driven a decline in crime.
“It’s OK to put two and two together,” Mr. O’Hare said. “You don’t always have to have proof.”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.