AP: Texas Attorney Fights Illegal Immigration Rules
February 8, 2009 – The Associated Press reports on attorney William “Bill” Brewer’s successful work representing landlords in Farmers Branch, Texas, fighting the city’s efforts to prevent illegal immigrants from renting apartments and houses.
In November 2006, the Farmers Branch City Council passed a city ordinance requiring landlords to check the immigration status of renters.
“What they’re doing in Farmers Branch is highly illegal, inappropriate and unconstitutional,” said Brewer.
The article described Brewer’s dedication to civil rights work and advocacy on behalf of the Latino population.
“Generating an antagonism between Anglos and Hispanics is not the way to go,” Brewer said. “This is a state, if it’s not already, will soon be, a state where the majority of the people in our community ... are of Hispanic origin.”
Brewer also described the advocacy of Bickel & Brewer Storefront (now Brewer Storefront), offering pro-bono services.
“The goal here was to do something a little different and it was – and is – to bring the resources that are available to our corporate clients to community impact cases.”
Speaking further on the growth of the Hispanic population in Texas, Brewer said that “The most important time in the history of Texas is right now in how we handle this shifting demographic. And it is an opportunity, it’s not bad, it’s all good.”
Read more here.
Dallas Morning News: Studies – Hispanic Candidates Blocked
July 11, 2008 – The Dallas Morning News reports that new studies released as part of a federal voting rights lawsuit brought against the City of Irving found that the city’s at-large voting system allowed white voters to block the election of Hispanic-favored candidates.
“It is clear that whites vote as a bloc, and given they vote as a bloc, it effectively negates any chance a Hispanic has at being elected,” said attorney Bill Brewer, who represented plaintiff Manuel Benavidez in the lawsuit.
The Brewer firm commissioned the studies on Irving City Council elections in 2002, 2005 and 2008. The article noted that they were conducted by an expert on election systems and minority voters and the founder of a database management firm specializing in Census data.
The lawsuit requested that a U.S. district court declare that Irving’s at-large method violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and asked the city to develop a new system of electing council members.
AP: Judge Rules Texas Town’s Illegal Immigrant Apartment Rental Ban Unconstitutional
May 28, 2008 – The Associated Press reports that U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay found that a rental ordinance passed by city leaders in Farmers Branch, Texas, was unconstitutional and only the federal government can regulate immigration.
The ordinance would have barred apartment rental to illegal immigrants and required landlords to verify legal status.
Attorney William “Bill” Brewer, who represented apartment complex operators who opposed the rule, celebrated the victory. Lindsay found that the city did not defer to the federal government on the matter and violated the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution.
“It’s a good day, not just for my clients,” Brewer said. “It’s a good day for people who are thinking clearly about what is the proper role of municipal governments in the immigration debate.”
Read more here.
Dallas Morning News: Trial Over Voting Sees First Battle
February 18, 2009 – The Dallas Morning News reports that a federal court challenge to the City of Irving’s at-large City Council elections opened with disagreements over data interpretation.
Brewer Storefront represented plaintiff Manuel Benavidez in a voting rights lawsuit against the city, arguing that its at-large voting method effectively denies representation to Hispanics.
Expert David Ely testified that socioeconomic and educational disparities between Irving’s Hispanic and white populations made successful city council campaigns difficult for Hispanics.
“It’s more difficult for candidates from this community to obtain the vote,” Ely said. He said he used 2000 U.S. Census data, 2006 Census estimates and his own projects to develop possible Hispanic voter majority districts.
Dallas Morning News: Suit Calls Irving’s At-Large System Unfair to Hispanics
November 7, 2007 – The Dallas Morning News reports that a federal voting rights lawsuit filed against the city of Irving, Texas, and its nine city council members alleged that the at-large voting system effectively denied representation to Hispanics.
The lawsuit requested that the court declare that the at-large election system violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and requested the development of a new system of electing the city council. The article referred to discussions about creating single-member districts.
Attorney Bill Brewer of Brewer Storefront represented plaintiff Manuel Benavidez, who twice ran unsuccessfully for the Irving City Council. Brewer said the city was the best place to “start the debate.”
“This is the body that is most directly involved in municipal affairs across the board,” Brewer said.
He added that Hispanics should determine at least some council seats in a city where more than one-third of the population is Hispanic.
"You would have an enriched community if you had different points of view at the table debating matters of municipal policy and municipal affairs,” Brewer said.
Houston Chronicle: Judge Bars Enforcement of Farmers Branch Rental Law
June 5, 2007 –The Houston Chronicle reports that U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay extended an order preventing the Dallas suburb of Farmers Branch from enforcing a voter-approved ordinance barring apartment rentals to most illegal immigrants.
The judge decided that a temporary restraining order issued the month prior would remain in effect until June 19, 2007.
“Farmers Branch should not be in the business of determining who is in the country legally,” said then Brewer attorney Jim Renard, who was representing three apartment complexes. He added that the ordinance should be “tossed.”
Read more here.