Frisco council hears testimony on alleged immigrant housing abuses

Frisco City Council heard testimony from Kelly, a Texas real estate license holder, as repeated claims of immigrant housing and employment abuse exposed a basic enforcement problem at City Hall. City officials said the accusations had not generated actionable reports for investigators, leaving a gap between the public accusations and any case that could be pursued. That gap matters in a city whose population reached 236,955 in July 2025 and in Collin County, which climbed to 1,297,179.

Frisco’s scale and diversity have become part of the dispute. U.S. Census estimates cited in local reporting put Indian residents at about 19% of the city, while city-released 2026 demographic figures showed Asian residents at 33%, up from 26% in 2020 and 10% in 2010. The census also put Frisco’s foreign-born share at 27.3%, and Collin County’s at 23.3%, underscoring how quickly the suburb has changed as home prices and rents have risen, with median gross rent in Frisco at $2,014.

The complaints aired at council meetings have stretched from allegations of visa fraud to labor-law violations and incompatible cultural practices, often wrapped in anti-immigrant rhetoric. Frisco officials said those claims were unsubstantiated and had not produced actionable reports for city investigators. The city also noted that Texas law guarantees public comment on agenda items, and Frisco has sometimes allowed broader comment on non-agenda community concerns, which has made the council chamber a public outlet even when no enforcement file follows.

The political fallout has been immediate and personal. Burt Thakur, the New Delhi-born U.S. citizen, Navy veteran and Frisco council member elected in 2025, has been targeted by racist comments at City Hall. Many of the most vocal speakers were not Frisco residents, according to local reporting, and the rhetoric spread widely on social media, drawing more people to later meetings. In response, the council approved tighter decorum rules that ban props and signs and bar speakers from approaching council members directly, while also reconsidering changes to public-speaker time limits. With Mayor Jeff Cheney term-limited and the May 2, 2026 election for his replacement now past, the fight over who gets heard in Frisco’s public meetings has become part of the city’s larger struggle over accountability.