Dallas suburb Farmers Branch, Hazelton Pa. lose legal battle on immigration

The Supreme Court has ended the efforts of two local governments to prevent some immigrants from renting apartments.

The justices on Monday declined to take up appeals from the Dallas suburb of Farmers Branch, Texas, or the city of Hazleton, Pa., of lower court rulings that blocked local ordinances regulating rental housing.

Both were intended to keep people who are in the country illegally from finding housing in those jurisdictions.

The Supreme Court held in 2012 that immigration is primarily a matter for the federal government, ruling out most local and state laws targeting illegal immigration.

The Hazleton case also involved an ordinance that would have denied permits to businesses that hired people who are in the U.S. illegally.