Anti-Immigrant Ordinances: Valley Park, Mo.
Passed in July 2006 by the Board of Alderman of the City of Valley Park, Mo., the town’s “Illegal Immigration Relief Act Ordinance” seeks to punish landlords who rent to and business owners and employers who hire undocumented workers. The law also seeks to make English the official language of the city.
On July 17, 2006, a coalition of landlords, along with the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunity Council, challenged the ordinance. St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Barbara Wallace issued a temporary restraining order to block enforcement of the law because of “big holes” in the city ordinance. The Valley Park City Council then removed the English-only provision and passed a second, revised version of the law. A second injunction blocked enforcement of the new version; on November 15, 2006, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri remanded the case to Missouri state court. On March 12, 2007, Judge Wallace granted a permanent injunction against the ordinances. In addition, the City of Valley Park has repealed its housing ordinance.
Seeking to circumvent this ruling, the City of Valley Park has since enacted several amended versions of the Ordinances, which are currently embroiled in pending litigation.
The ACLU of Eastern Missouri and the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project are working with the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and others to challenge these ordinances.
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LEGAL DOCUMENTS > Reynolds v. City of Valley Park - Amended Temporary Restraining Order (9/27/2006) > Reynolds v. City of Valley Park - First Amended Petition for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (9/27/2006) > Reynolds v. City of Valley Park - Amended Temporary Restraining Order (9/27/2006) > Reynolds v. City of Valley Park - Temporary Restraining Order (9/25/2006) > Reynolds v. City of Valley Park - Petition for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (9/22/2006) LEGISLATIVE DOCUMENTS |
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IN THE STATES The ACLU is fighting discriminatory housing and employment ordinances in the following states: > CALIFORNIA: Garrett v. City of Escondido > GEORGIA: Stewart v. Cherokee County, Ga. > NEW JERSEY: Riverside Coalition of Business Persons and Landlords v. Township of Riverside > PENNSYLVANIA: Lozano v. Hazleton, Pa. > TEXAS: Vasquez v. City of Farmers Branch |