A lawsuit filed in federal court late Monday afternoon alleges that city leaders in Port Isabel discriminated against low-income Hispanic residents in the years following Hurricane Dolly.
A lawsuit filed in federal court late Monday afternoon alleges that city leaders in Port Isabel discriminated against low-income Hispanic residents in the years following Hurricane Dolly.
The Cameron County Housing Authority and the Community Housing & Economic Development Corporation, with the assistance of the public interest justice center Texas Appleseed, are accusing the City of Port Isabel, its City Commission and the Planning and Zoning Commission of blocking the rebuilding of the Neptune Apartments, which are near the coastal city’s iconic lighthouse.
In 2008, Hurricane Dolly slammed into the Rio GrandeValley. After the storm, the 16-unit multifamily Neptune Apartments, which are in close proximity to the Laguna Madre, became uninhabitable.
The lawsuit alleges that leaders in Port Isabel violated federal fair housing and civil rights laws by segregating “the City of Port Isabel by denying families and individuals the right to live in a particular neighborhood based on their national origin and familial status.”
According to Texas Appleseed, 99 percent of the Housing Authority’s tenants are Hispanic, and 74 percent are families with children.
“This is a prime example of the fact that even when natural disasters don’t discriminate, recovery can,” said Madison Sloan, Texas Appleseed’s Fair Housing and Disaster Recover Project director, in a press release. “Jurisdictions can’t choose who gets to recover based on their race, national origin, or other legally protected characteristics, nor can they allow community opposition to prevent rebuilding.”
PortIsabelCity Manager Jared Hockema said Port Isabel categorically denies the allegations and said the city plans to vigorously contest them in court.
“The lawsuit contains scurrilous references to unattributed comments by members of the public,” Hockema said in an emailed statement. “The City of Port Isabel is not responsible for statements by members of the public, and does not condone discriminatory statements of any kind.”
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