DALLAS MORNING NEWSAugust 27, 2006
Illegal migrant proposal stirs passions in Farmers Branch
Residents disagree on whether councilman's plan is right move for suburb in transition FARMERS BRANCH – Drive through Farmers Branch, and its meticulously landscaped medians, tree-lined thoroughfares and 28 parks in 12 square miles stand out. Its high-rises, home to nearly 2,600 companies, give it the appearance of a major metropolitan city. But beneath the glitter is a small, aging suburb in transition. Farmers Branch, bordered by Dallas on the south and Carrollton to the north, has become home to a large number of immigrants. The city was more than 90 percent white in 1970. Today, it is over one-third Hispanic and about one-fourth foreign-born. Also, the city's housing stock and commercial buildings are showing signs of age and decay. Now, amid what some elected officials say is part of an ongoing effort to turn around property decline and bring new money and new life into the city, this suburb of about 28,000 residents finds itself in the spotlight of the contentious national debate on illegal immigration. Council member Tim O'Hare has suggested the city fine employers and landlords who hire or lease property to illegal immigrants. He also wants to make English the city's official language and end funding for illegal immigrant children in some of the city's youth programs. The ideas largely mirror an ordinance passed in Hazelton, Pa., this summer. That measure has drawn lawsuits challenging its constitutionality.
Criticism of O'Hare Hector Flores of Dallas, immediate past national president of LULAC, said city officials are unfairly blaming illegal immigrants for trends that aging first-ring suburbs around the country are facing. "We know what he means," Mr. Flores said. "All those code words. ... It's about poor people. They don't want working-class people there. I think his goal is to exclude working-class people in that community." Farmers Branch residents Debby Lords and Jean Escobedo said they also are concerned about declining neighborhoods, in particular overcrowding in homes, run-down rental properties, and beer bottles and trash in yards. But both say Mr. O'Hare is going about it wrong. "It's not about creed, color or gender – none of that," Ms. Lords said. "I think it needs to be addressed from code enforcement." Ms. Escobedo said illegal immigrants are part of the problem. "They don't feel like the laws here should pertain to them," she said. But she said the community should help illegal immigrants learn English, get an education, find employment and adapt to the culture here that expects properties to be maintained. Mr. O'Hare said the city's older neighborhoods face not only the problem of poorly maintained properties, but also a rising crime rate, declines in property values or growth in valuations less than the rate of inflation, and lowered performance of local schools as the influx of non-English-speaking students continues.
Crime is down However, Farmers Branch police statistics show that major crime was down 9.2 percent in 2005. And from January to July of this year, crime was down 8.5 percent in the major categories, which include murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault and burglary. Valuations of existing residential properties this year were up 0.9 percent, the smallest increase in a decade, said Charles Cox, city finance director. Since fiscal 1996-97, he said, valuations have risen between 1.4 percent and 12.1 percent every year until this year. "In the 1999-2000 fiscal year, we had an increase of 4.9 percent. Every year from that point until now, we've had a rate of growth greater than the rate of inflation," Mr. Cox said. Mr. O'Hare said that despite the numbers, Farmers Branch residents are unable to sell their properties for what the appraisal district says they should be worth. "You can't get around the fact that for an overwhelming majority of people that live in our city that own homes, that is far and away their biggest asset," he said. "And I think I have a duty to try to protect that asset and help it be a worthwhile asset that returns money on their investment and inspires people to continue to reinvest in their homes." As for the schools, the Carrollton-Farmers Branch school district is rated recognized by the Texas Education Agency, with all five of the district's Farmers Branch elementary and middle schools moving up from acceptable to recognized this year. R.L. Turner High School's rating remained acceptable. The two DISD campuses in Farmers Branch, William L. Cabell Elementary and W.T. White High School, also are rated acceptable. But Mr. O'Hare said that acceptable is not good enough to stem the decline of property values or keep people from moving out. "The issues in Farmers Branch are not unlike those of other cities across the country," Mayor Bob Phelps said in a written statement. "In Farmers Branch, we also have a new wave of opportunity with our innovative development. We are actively pursuing a plan for redevelopment that will infuse new life into our residential and commercial areas." The city has taken several steps toward revitalizing neighborhoods and boosting property values, including acquiring land for development around a new DART station, capping the number of vehicles that can be parked at a home at five, and convening a task force to help market the city and improve neighborhoods. The city is considering builder and buyer incentive programs to encourage new residential development in older neighborhoods. The incentives would be for buying lots, tearing down decaying homes and building new, larger homes, or for buying existing homes for extensive renovations. First-ring suburbs A study released this year by the Brookings Institution, a research organization based in Washington, D.C., found that first-ring suburbs – those like Farmers Branch that are closest to the central urban city – are facing some unique problems. According to the study, racial and ethnic minorities living in those suburbs more than doubled between 1980 and 2000 and now make up one-third of the population. First-ring suburbs have become destination points for immigrants, with almost 29 percent of foreign-born residents calling them home. First-ring suburbs also now have more foreign-born residents than major cities do. Farmers Branch was 90.2 percent white in 1970 and 78 percent white in 2000, according to census figures posted on the city's Web site. And the percentage of Farmers Branch residents who have at least some college education rose from 37 percent in 1970 to 54 percent in 2000. However, the median household income is lower when the 1970 median income is converted to 2000 dollars, according to the city's Web site. In 1970, the median household income was $12,756. Converted to 2000 dollars, it was $56,612. The 2000 median household income was $54,734. "Show me a city that's not in a state of decline. Every inner city and the immediate suburban areas in some areas are in some state of decline," said Mr. Flores of LULAC. Mr. O'Hare said that illegal immigrants are only part of the problem of the deterioration of the community. But he said that they are benefiting from services and programs funded by city, state and federal tax dollars. That money should be spent serving people who are here legally, he said. "To all the people who suggest this is race-related, I find that sad. It could not be farther from the truth," Mr. O'Hare said. "Everybody is welcome in Farmers Branch that is a legal citizen or legal alien, no matter what country they're from, no matter what language they speak, no matter what country. "But if you're not here legally, you're breaking the law, and we want to be a city that upholds the law."
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