Another (Local Ordinance) Bites the Dust — At Least for Now

Valley Park, Missouri — the city’s ordinances targeting illegal immigrants — first passed last summer — clash with state law and cannot be enforced, a judge ruled Monday. But that doesn’t mean the issue is dead in Valley Park. In September, nearly 20 attorneys sued the city, arguing that the ordinances would lead to racial profiling, promote housing discrimination and hurt businesses. Valley Park leaders responded by repealing the original ordinances and enacting a series of new ones, hoping they would pass legal muster. It is unclear how St. Louis County Circuit Judge Barbara Wallace’s ruling will affect the city’s ability to enforce its new ordinances. Her ruling was based on the city’s original attempts. But Karen Tokarz, a law professor at Washington University who worked on the case, said the attorneys from the ACLU, St. Louis University and other organizations would soon file another suit against Valley Park to try to have the new ordinances declared void. Click here for more details.

KJ