Published Sunday July 20, 2008

Immigration frustration stokes fury in Fremont

BY CINDY GONZALEZ
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER



FREMONT, Neb. — Foreign dwellers in overcrowded apartments stirred the commotion in Escondido, Calif.




Toribio and Hortencia Villaseñor opened Tienda mi Tierra in Fremont, Neb., with savings from jobs at the Hormel plant. Helping them in the store are their children, Toribio Jr., 13, Gabino, 5, and Jeanette, 6.In other cities, congested day-labor sites and rising crime rates stoked the fury.

Yet residents of this Midwestern community west of Omaha could not pinpoint the trigger that sparked its City Council to join the list of U.S. municipalities crafting laws aimed at driving illegal immigrants from their town.

Residents instead describe a general escalating frustration over what many see as the federal government's lax response to illegal immigration. It is exacerbated by the influx of workers with different customs, language and skin tone.

While many say Fremont's proposal to penalize those who hire or rent to illegal immigrants has but a slim shot at being enacted or enforced, supporters still may claim a victory of sorts.

Already they have captured national attention with their vent that Congress has shirked its responsibility to deal with the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in this country.

And the tone of the debate has become so uncomfortable that some Latinos are contemplating moving away anyway.

"We're indignant," said Gloria Ponce, a Mexican native and naturalized U.S. citizen who has lived eight years in Fremont with her husband and five children. "They don't want any Hispanic here, legal or illegal. If they don't want us, we'll go somewhere else where we can work."

Momentum both for and against the proposal has reached a point that council members are considering shifting the next public hearing on the matter to the City Auditorium. They're also seeking to adopt rules of conduct for that July 29 session.

A decision on whether to enact what is Nebraska's first city-driven effort to ban illegal immigrants is scheduled Aug. 26.

Bob Warner, the longtime councilman who proposed the ordinance, said he has fielded more than 100 supportive phone calls (he has no e-mail) from a dozen states. He has been invited onto numerous radio talk shows and has received at least two offers of financial help, from organizations in Boston and Colorado.

Even Councilman Scott Getzschman, who plans to vote against the ordinance, agreed that "something should be done" about illegal immigration. He just doesn't think his town of 25,000 can afford to take the lead for the entire country.

"Fremont, Neb., cannot fight this battle for the United States," said Getzschman, who owns a heating and air-conditioning business. "Unless the public is willing to cut services . . . who's going to pay?"

He estimated that it could cost a half-million dollars to train the local police department to enforce the ordinance. Every adult renter, regardless of ethnicity, would have to obtain a $5 occupancy license for each move. Local police would verify legal status and then issue the license.

The ordinance couldn't be enforced outside the city limits, said City Administrator Bob Hartwig, and numerous Fremont workers live in surrounding towns.

Furthermore, the two big employers of foreigners — meat processing plants — also sit outside city limits.

A stroll down Main Street — still spiffed up from the recent John C. Fremont Days celebration — found a range of strong emotions.

Ken Snyder, born and raised here, paused after buying a hot dog at an outdoor vending stand.

"We are farm people, we make our living honestly, off the land," said 73-year-old Snyder. "We're just getting sick of . . . the Mexicans coming up here and wanting everything for free."

Brad Schiermeyer, 45, said that like anywhere else, his hometown has seen a surge of foreigners. He enjoys trying the foods that are new to him but can't understand why undocumented workers have been allowed to stay.

"If they're illegal, send 'em back," said Schiermeyer, a property manager.

Around the corner, Toribio and Hortencia Villaseñor tidied up the store they opened eight years ago with savings from jobs at the Hormel hog processing plant.

Until a reporter's visit, Toribio Villaseñor, a U.S. citizen, was unaware of the proposed ordinance, even though he had attended the July 8 council meeting where it later was aired. He and his wife had been there for a discussion on downtown redevelopment, but left not knowing about the immigration hearing.

"They want us to help Hispanics invest money in the community," Hortencia Villaseñor said. "Now they want to kick them out?"

The Villaseñors acknowledged the presence of undocumented workers in the area but said that should not brand all Hispanics. The couple said their customers pay sales tax, and immigrants they know pay income taxes.

Outnumbering those who shared thoughts for this story were residents who declined to comment publicly. Several city leaders did not want to be identified but rejected the ordinance as too costly, unworkable and unfriendly to workers they said Fremont needs to prosper.

So why Fremont? Why now?

Typically, immigration-related tensions have flared because of school bond issues and other public service costs, crime, cultural clashes or day labor sites where immigrants gather for pickup work.

Fremont residents could not identify a flash point that prompted the proposed ordinance, which is similar to those tried in cities such as Hazleton, Pa., and Escondido.

Local irritation "snowballed," Warner said, after a Nebraska legislative committee blocked full discussion of a governor-supported bill that would have required verification of legal status for state benefits.

Warner, 72, is to step off the council later this year after 20 years in office.

Allan Hale, president of the Fremont Area Chamber of Commerce, said Warner wanted part of his "legacy" to be a response to a situation that has angered some constituents.

Hale dismissed any notion that local economic conditions led to the ordinance.

"Our numbers don't show any kind of downturn or major closing that would create these issues," he said. "Retail sales are strong. Even our auto dealers are doing well."

Hale said he visited with managers of the two major employers of immigrants and was "confident" each had done everything that could be done to hire a legal work force. Hormel employs 1,350 and Fremont Beef has about 140.

Hormel spokeswoman Julie Craven said her company uses a federal employment verification program to check legal status. She said the company has invited the City Council to tour the plant.

Craven released this statement: "Immigration is a national issue that must be addressed, and we want to be part of any solution that ensures all of our valued employees are legal residents of this country."

Steve Sexton, superintendent of the 4,600-student Fremont Public Schools, said he doesn't think that school growth or improvement costs are driving the ordinance.

The Hispanic student population grew from less than 1 percent of the district in 1992 to 15 percent in 2007. Sexton said the district's overall population growth was predicted because of the town's accessibility to sprawling Omaha.

Warner discounted racism as a factor. But Getzschman said people are swept up in emotion and, right or wrong, race has surfaced.

Fremont resident Ponce, who works at the Hormel plant, said all Hispanics feel the brunt. How, she asked, can someone tell by looking whether an immigrant is here legally or not?

No firm estimates exist on Fremont's illegal population. The most recent U.S. Census figures showed Hispanics growing in Fremont between 1990 and 2000, from 165 to more than 1,000. More have come since.

Alfredo Velez, owner of Guerrero Supermercado and a U.S. citizen, said a passer-by recently screamed "Go back to Mexico!" Velez, in turn, told the motorist to go to Europe.

Louise Crom, who works at Hormel, said she does not want to be viewed as a racist. She said she is simply fed up because of the government assistance she thinks illegal immigrants get.

"It's hard enough for us taxpayers to take care of ourselves, let alone somebody else," she said.

Lourdes Gouveia, a sociologist and immigration expert at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, said conflict arises when towns such as Fremont are inadequately prepared when foreign-born populations fill packing plant jobs.

"They want an economic solution," she said, "but not the human face that comes with the solution."

Exactly how the ordinance would address employment is unknown. City leaders won't talk about details until they're presented to the council.

While city housing ordinances targeting illegal immigrants have not stood up in court as constitutional, local and national legal experts say that certain employment-related provisions stand a better chance.

In Hazleton, the district court struck down an employment ordinance, saying it conflicted with an exclusive responsibility of the federal government.

In Valley Park, Mo., a different court found a similar ordinance acceptable. That court, using a different analysis, found it to be within the definition of a licensing exception, said Linton Joaquin of the National Immigration Legal Center.

Both decisions are being appealed, he said.

Longtime Fremont resident Martin Trautrimas sees both sides and is troubled by the conflict.

An immigrant born in Lithuania and raised in Germany, Trautrimas also speaks French and Spanish and teaches English to the newest immigration wave in Fremont.

Until about 15 years ago, Trautrimas said, his community was almost entirely white. Latino immigrants were drawn by packing plant and construction jobs.

The additional traffic and crime that accompanied the population surge miffed many, he said. Demand for public services grew.

But the newcomer presence also has brought economic benefits, said Trautrimas, a retired college professor.

He believes it is up to the federal government to enforce immigration laws.

"Here on the local level, we may just be spinning our wheels."


• Contact the writer: 444-1224, cindy.gonzalez@owh.com

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