Thread: NE: Immigration Rally Draws Crowd Week Before Vote

Immigration Rally Draws Crowd Week Before Vote
Posted: Jun 15, 2010 8:12 PM PDT Updated: Jun 15, 2010 8:12 PM PDT

Todd Unger

FREMONT, Neb. (KPTM)- Close to 150 people rallied against a proposed illegal immigration ordinance in Fremont Tuesday night.

The vote, scheduled for a special election Monday, has already drawn a heavy, early voting turnout, according to Dodge County election officials.

Valeria Marquez, 17, says the ordinance is racist.

"We don't want division, especially towards Mexican and Hispanics where there has been a lot more racism," she told FOX 42.

Others voiced concern the ordinance will end up costing the city countless dollars in court fees.

"More and more people are realizing this law is unconstitutional. We'd spend years in court trying to request the permission to enforce this law," says Kristin Anderson Ostrom, one of the organizers of the group "One Fremont One Future."

Language in the ordinance would require renters in Fremont to obtain an occupancy license from the city. During that process, an applicant's immigration status would be checked. It would also require employers in Fremont to double–check their employees through the federal, E–Verify database.

Although people at Barnard Park were vehemently opposed to the proposal, elsewhere in town it's a far different story.

Andy Schnatz, one of the original supporters of the petition–driven ordinance, says it is long overdue.

"If the government doesn't want to do anything, it's up to the state, and if they don't, it's up to the city," says Schnatz.

Two years ago, the Fremont City Council voted down a similar ordinance. The vote was close, and a number of people who spoke to FOX 42 off–camera say it should've passed.

Schnatz says the motive behind the current proposal has nothing to do with racism, but is instead focused on making sure immigrants are legal.

"How is that being racist?" he asks.

http://www.kptm.com/Global/story.asp?S=12656106

I've lived legally abroad in South Korea, Laos, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman. They have legal residency rent requirements in those countries. I don't see why the US shouldn't either.

It's a great way to control illegal alien populations.

Valeria Marquez, 17, says the ordinance is racist.

Playing the race card is like the boy crying wolf. It's been used so often, it's become meaningless. No one listens anymore, little girl.

Nebraska City Torn as Immigration Vote Nears
By MONICA DAVEY
Published: June 17, 2010


FREMONT, Neb. — In this city of 25,000, far from any international border, the fight over illegal immigration has boiled over.

This is ordinarily a serene place with polite politics and votes that sail through City Hall 8 to 0. But in a special election Monday, residents will decide whether to ban businesses from hiring illegal immigrants and bar landlords from renting to them. Residents demanded the vote, fighting off challenges by some of their elected leaders all the way to the State Supreme Court.

The election has opened a rare and raw divide. There are awkward silences for some who fear offending their neighbors (whose position they cannot be certain of), and, for others, volleys of suspicion.

Wanda Kotas, who pushed for the special election, said her family’s cat, Mr. Sippi, was killed by a pellet gun not long after her efforts, an act she suspects is related. Kristin Ostrom, who has spoken against the referendum, said a rock was heaved through her front window, an old barbecue grill was dumped at her doorstep, and, this week, an e-mail message arrived promising in red letters to “shed bloodâ€

I guess we should stop enforcing ALL laws since it does cost money. The longer you let this go, the worse it will get. Lack of enforcement created this mess, this attitude of entitlement to violate immigration laws.
Every attempt to correct this problem is met with overwhelming condemnation by Hispanics. It is time we see the illegal Hispanic population for what they are--enemies of the American Republic.

Border Fight Creeps North
A Proposed Crackdown on Illegal Immigration Divides Nebraska Farm Town
Comments (175)


By LAUREN ETTER

FREMONT, Neb.—A vote Monday brings to a head a two-year battle over immigration that has divided residents here.

The split over a proposed city ordinance to crack down on illegal immigration has spilled over into churches, coffee shops and grocery stores in this agricultural center 35 miles northwest of Omaha—a long way from the U.S.-Mexico border.

Public officials in the once-homogeneous city of 25,000 have been asked not to speak on the topic, casting an odd veil of silence over the city. Mayor Donald "Skip" Edwards declined to be interviewed, saying only that "I'm not going to put myself in a difficult spot."

"The mentality and the atmosphere has changed" here, said Michelle Knapp, a resident and vocal opponent of the ordinance, sitting at a quaint Main Street coffee shop. "It's fear."

Fremont's special election follows on the heels of a strict law recently signed by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer making it a state crime to be in the country illegally.

While immigration has long been the purview of the federal government, states and cities like Fremont are increasingly taking matters into their own hands in the absence of a comprehensive overhaul of U.S. immigration policy.

"If you're having flooding, you're not going to wait for the federal government to sandbag," said Jerry Hart, a resident and lead proponent of the Fremont ordinance.

Since its founding in 1856, Fremont has been almost all white, with many residents of Swedish and German descent. Over the years, big meatpacking companies like Hormel Foods moved to town as the industry was consolidating and being pushed from urban centers to the rural Midwest. In the 1990s, the area's Hispanic population began to grow.

Today, about 1,100 immigrants, including some who lack proper documentation, call Fremont home, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research group. Manicured lawns, lilac bushes and restaurants like the Nifty Fifties are now punctuated by Mexican restaurants and tiny tiendas that sell yucca and plantains.

In June 2008, a now-retired city council member proposed an ordinance that would prohibit harboring, hiring or renting to undocumented immigrants. It would give local police more power to inquire into a person's immigration status.

The following month, residents packed the Fremont High School to debate the issue. In a vote the night of the debate, the city council split four-to-four on the proposal. Mayor Edwards cast the tie-breaking vote against the ordinance, saying at the time that he had consulted with the Nebraska attorney general and determined that immigration matters should remain in federal hands.

Disappointed by the outcome, proponents gathered more than 3,000 signatures to put the issue on a ballot for a special election. The city sued in state court, saying the ordinance would be unconstitutional. In April, the Nebraska Supreme Court concluded the measure should be put before voters.

Out-of-state groups have joined the fight. Kris Kobach, an attorney and law professor from Missouri, has been lending legal advice to Fremonters who want the ordinance. Mr. Kobach has also helped other small cities pass similar ordinances, and he helped write the Arizona law.

On the other side, the Nebraska affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union has threatened to sue if the ordinance passes. Opponents warn that passage would lead to costly litigation the city can't afford.

After the city council vote in 2008, tensions escalated. Some started calling Fremont "Frexico" and accused immigrants of bringing gang activity and disease to town, claims that are hotly contested. Alfredo Velez, owner of Tienda Mexicana Guerrero, said somebody shot out his front window with a BB gun.

Backers of the ordinance say it will protect Fremont from becoming a "safe-haven for illegal aliens," according to a flier with an American flag being distributed across town.

Ordinance backer Edward Robinson, a farmer who lives just outside Fremont, said over a plate of enchiladas at a local Mexican restaurant that he applauds Fremont for taking action because the U.S.-Mexico border "is a portal that is so dangerous today."

Other residents, including immigrants, say the proposal would make Fremont one of America's least welcoming towns.

Earlier this week, a group of Fremont residents in a newly formed group, One Fremont One Future, gathered about 200 people in a grassy park to show their opposition to the ordinance.

The Fremont Area Chamber of Commerce recently passed a resolution opposing the proposed ordinance, saying it would impose high costs on businesses that they can ill-afford, "especially in this uncertain economy."

The city said in a fact sheet the ordinance would cost Fremont at least $1 million a year to implement and enforce. The city also said it would likely have to raise taxes and cut jobs to pay for the increases.

"It's the wrong solution," said longtime resident Don Hinds, owner of a commercial investment business in the city. It would be a "tremendous burden on landlords, city officials and the police department."

http://oneoldvet.com/

http://online.wsj.com

Many groups have a stake in Fremont vote

BY JoANNE YOUNG / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Saturday, June 19, 2010 11:55 pm

The town of Fremont, population 25,000, will attempt Monday to step into a breach.

If the federal government can't offer a solution to illegal immigration, some residents have decided to do it themselves.

But they are getting plenty of help: advice from supporters and opponents, national organizations and attorneys. And they're getting lots of money.

Kansas attorney Kris Kobach has been closely involved with the proposed Fremont ordinance through his affiliation with the Immigration Reform Law Institute, the legal arm of the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

He authored or helped to write similar or related legislation elsewhere, including controversial laws in Hazleton, Pa.; Farmers Branch, Texas; and Arizona.

He has drawn the most attention because of his ties to FAIR, which has the goals of stopping illegal immigration and slowing overall immigration.

FAIR contributed $2,500 to Fremont for Illegal Immigration Enforcement, the political committee that supports the ordinance.

That ordinance would require occupancy licenses for renters and monitoring of those licenses by landlords and would make employers verify the legal status of employees with the E-Verify system.

John Wiegert, who helped lead the movement to force Fremont's ordinance to a public vote, said his committee got the $2,500 check from FAIR on Friday and will use the money for weekend radio and newspaper advertising.

FAIR President Dan Stein said his group has an interest in Fremont's citizen initiative, nothing more than that.

"It's entirely a grassroots response from people who live in the community," he said.

Kobach has offered suggestions, Stein said, to people who step forward and want to be part of the solution to what they see as an overwhelming problem. But local communities have total say, he said.

"There's no grand national strategy."

Citizens have taken what used to be solely a Washington issue, discussed and decided behind closed doors, and turned it into a "true populist movement," he said.

Ordinance opponents from outside Fremont also have stepped into the debate with their own advice, money or both.

They include Nebraska Appleseed, the American Civil Liberties Union-Nebraska and the League of Nebraska Municipalities.

Paul Olson, president of Nebraskans for Peace, has been vocal about what he sees as FAIR leadership's underlying agenda.

"FAIR never uses the overt terminology of prejudice but rather words and situations that make the person (who is) troubled by the presence of people of color feel denied or threatened," he said.

He cites numerous examples of FAIR leaders' derogatory statements about immigrants and low-income people.

The Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith has criticized FAIR for using "reckless, distorted language and tactics that cloud and inhibit responsible debate" on immigration.

Nebraska is a conservative state, Olson said, but it historically has not been an egregiously racist state.

Other Nebraska communities, such as Lexington and Schuyler, have handled the growth of immigrants differently than has Fremont, he said. It takes schools, religious and community leaders and businesses to thwart prejudice and fear fostered by outside groups, he said.

In Fremont, religious leaders were slow to step up and address the issue of illegal immigration and the ordinance, Olson said. Community groups that initially were reluctant to speak out are now doing so.

Another organization that has stepped into the controversy, the League of Nebraska Municipalities, contributed $25,000 to Centsible Citizens Say No, a committee of Fremont business leaders who oppose the ordinance.

The money, Executive Director Lynn Rex said, came from the sales of directories and magazines and from conferences, not from any dues of the more than 385 member cities and villages.

The league is involved because of concern about the domino effect on other cities and copycat ordinances should the Fremont measure pass, Rex said.

The ordinance will not do what it purports to do, she said. And it likely would be shown to be unconstitutional. In the meantime, local taxpayers will bear the brunt of these outside groups testing the legal waters.

Illegal immigration needs to be addressed on the federal level, she said, and she believes it will be after the November election.

The Legislature in 2009 shored up employee verification efforts for public agencies, local governments and contractors that do work for them. It has turned down attempts to repeal the Dream Act, which allows in-state tuition for children of illegal immigrants.

The state senator from Fremont, Charlie Janssen, who was on the Fremont City Council in 2008 when the ordinance was defeated, has said he will introduce legislation in 2011 similar to that of Arizona.

Susan Smith of the Nebraskans Advisory Group, formed in 2006 to encourage local, state and federal officials to deter illegal immigration, is one who would encourage Janssen and the Legislature to act on the issue rather than waiting for federal action.

She suggested these measures:

* Require all employers to verify legal status, in addition to public agencies.

* Repeal in-state tuition availability for college students who are not in the country legally.

* Sanction or refuse to do business with countries whose citizens are found to be illegally living or working in Nebraska.

* Take away state funding from agencies, businesses, health care facilities, community organizations, nonprofits and local governments that fail to report information on illegal immigrants or who aid, encourage, induce or harbor those immigrants.

* Require law enforcement to detain illegal immigrants who turn up in DUI roadblocks.

What is driving the Fremont vote is total frustration, she said.

"Citizens, as a whole, are not angry at illegal aliens," she said. "They are angry and frustrated with the cost of illegal immigration, with our senators who refuse to listen to us, with politicians who are breaking state and federal laws that ultimately encourages more illegal immigration and does so at a cost to taxpayers."

http://journalstar.com

Read More Here


Nebraska town, angered by influx votes on immig measure
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-203426.html

Neb. town to vote on illegal immigration measure
http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-1079016.html

Great News for American Citizens:

Fremont, NEB: Illegal immigration ordinance passes
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-203549.html