Thread: Neb. town to vote on illegal immigration measure

By TIMBERLY ROSS (AP) – 20 hours ago

FREMONT, Neb. — Angered by a recent influx of Hispanic workers attracted by jobs at local meatpacking plants, voters in the eastern Nebraska city of Fremont will decide Monday whether to ban hiring or renting property to illegal immigrants.

The vote will be the culmination of a two-year fight that saw proponents collect enough signatures to put the question to a public vote. If the ordinance is approved, the community of 25,000 people could face a long and costly court battle. Either way, the emotions stirred up won't settle quickly.

"Even if we say 'no' ... we still need to say, 'How do we get along with each other now?'" said Kristin Ostrom, who helps oversee a campaign against the measure.

Across the nation, people have expressed anger about — and demanded action against — the poor enforcement of federal laws to prevent illegal immigration. A law recently introduced in Arizona requires police to question people on their immigration status if there's a "reasonable suspicion" they are illegal.

Fremont's Hispanic population has surged in the past two decades, boosted by recruitment to the Fremont Beef and Hormel plants, and the city maintains an enviably low unemployment rate. Nonetheless, residents worry that the jobs are going to illegal immigrants who they fear could be a drain on community resources.

Clint Walraven, who has lived in Fremont all his 51 years, said the jobs should go to legal residents who are unemployed — something he believes the ordinance would help remedy. Discussions on the issue can get heated, he said, particularly if racism is mentioned.

"It has nothing to do with being racist," he says. "We all have to play by the same rules. ... If you want to stay here, get legal."

When he worked at the Hormel plant in the 1980s, Walraven says, he had one Hispanic co-worker.

From about 165 Hispanics — both legal and illegal — living in Fremont in 1990, the total surged to 1,085 in 2000, according to census expert David Drozd at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He says an estimated 2,060 Hispanics lived there last year. In May, Fremont recorded just 4.9 percent unemployment, in line with the statewide rate and significantly lower than the national average of 9.7 percent.

If approved, the measure will require potential renters to apply for a license to rent. The application process will force Fremont officials to check if the renters are in the country legally. If they are found to be illegal, they will not be issued a license allowing them to rent.

The ordinance would also require businesses to check employees against the federal E-Verify database to ensure they are allowed to work.

Supporters of the proposal say it's needed to make up for what they see as lax enforcement by federal officials. Opponents say it could fuel discrimination.

Results are expected Monday night.

Ron Tillery, executive director of the Fremont Chamber of Commerce, which opposes the measure, said businesses are concerned that the E-Verify system isn't reliable and that they would be subject to fines if forced to rely on it. He pointed out that the main targets of the ordinance — the Fremont Beef and Hormel plants — would not be covered by it anyway because they are located outside the city.

Walraven says the measure is necessary because workers send their salaries to family in Mexico instead of spending it in the city. He said Hispanic workers stand in line out the door at the post office, waiting to send off envelopes of cash.

"I understand supporting your family," he said, "But it's very much at our expense. We're footing the bill."

Those costs include spending on education and medical care, said Jerry Hart, a Fremont resident who petitioned for the vote. He said the ordinance would help curb that spending and protect jobs for legal residents.

He said it would also end the divisiveness that's taken over the community.

"The division is because the illegal aliens are here and nobody's taken care of it," he said. "If it does not pass, it's going to get worse."

The Fremont Tribune has reported several instances of legal Hispanic residents being told to return to Mexico, including a woman who was shoved and yelled at by an elderly white man in a grocery store.

Hart says he's been called a Nazi.

"Fear is kind of guiding," says Ostrom, adding that frustration about immigration issues nationwide ignites a misconception that all Hispanic immigrants in Fremont are illegal.

Sandra Leffler, 69, who owns a downtown antique store with her husband, Marv, says she knows not all Hispanics are illegal immigrants, but that it's hard not to think that way. She says she keeps an eye on Hispanic customers.

"I have to admit, when I see them come into the store ... I can't help wondering if I'm profiling someone who's completely honest," she said.

The Fremont City Council narrowly rejected a policy similar to the proposed ordinance in 2008, but proponents got it to a public vote and the state Supreme Court refused to block it.

The Nebraska chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has already threatened a lawsuit, and the city is worried about the cost of defending the policy. In a fact sheet posted on its website, the city estimated the legal action would cost $1 million per year to fight — costs that would have to be covered by property tax raises and city job cuts.

Kobach, who has been involved in legal battles over local ordinances elsewhere, as well as the Arizona law, said Valley Park, Mo. paid between $250,000 and $300,000 in legal fees in a similar case. Valley Park, like Fremont, is covered by the 8th Circuit.

State Sen. Charlie Janssen of Fremont, who has said he may introduce an Arizona-style bill in the Legislature next session, said it's unfortunate residents have to decide how to vote amid threats of a lawsuit.

He has declined to give his position on the ordinance, saying residents need to decide on their own how to vote.

"A vote for or against the ordinance does not make you more or less patriotic," he said in a posting on his legislative blog. "Just as a vote for or against the ordinance does not make you racist or not."

___

Associated Press writer Nate Jenkins in Lincoln, Neb., contributed to this report.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art ... gD9GF551O0

added to homepage

http://www.alipac.us/article5376.html

Go Nebraska! Perhaps having the guts to do the right thing will become contagious!

Read More Here

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

NE: Immigration Rally Draws Crowd Week Before Vote
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-202988.html

Just how many law suites can the ACLU file against the will of the American People? How the heck are these pro-illegal groups able to stay afloat? And We the People can not afford the law suites against our laws being enforced? HOG WASH/ other terms come to mind!

Nebraska City to Vote on Illegal Immigration Crackdown

June 21, 2010
Associated Press

FREMONT, Neb. -- Angered by a recent influx of Hispanic workers attracted by jobs at local meatpacking plants, voters in the eastern Nebraska city of Fremont will decide Monday whether to ban hiring or renting property to illegal immigrants.

The vote will be the culmination of a two-year fight that saw proponents collect enough signatures to put the question to a public vote. If the ordinance is approved, the community of 25,000 people could face a long and costly court battle. Either way, the emotions stirred up won't settle quickly.

"Even if we say 'no' ... we still need to say, 'How do we get along with each other now?"' said Kristin Ostrom, who helps oversee a campaign against the measure.

Across the nation, people have been outraged by -- and demanded action against -- the poor enforcement of federal laws to prevent illegal immigration. A law recently introduced in Arizona requires police to question people on their immigration status if there's a "reasonable suspicion" they are illegal.

A man who helped write the Arizona law is helping to fight for the ordinance in Fremont, which has seen its Hispanic population surge in the past two decades. That increase is largely because they were recruited to work for the Fremont Beef and Hormel plants, and the city maintains an enviably low unemployment rate.

Nonetheless, residents worry that jobs are going to illegal immigrants who they fear could drain community resources.

Clint Walraven, who has lived in Fremont all his 51 years, said the jobs should go to legal residents who are unemployed -- something he believes the ordinance would help fix. Discussions on the issue can get heated, he said, particularly if racism is mentioned.

"It has nothing to do with being racist," he said. "We all have to play by the same rules. ... If you want to stay here, get legal."

When he worked at the Hormel plant in the 1980s, Walraven said, he had one Hispanic co-worker.

From about 165 Hispanics -- both legal and illegal -- living in Fremont in 1990, the total surged to 1,085 in 2000, according to census expert David Drozd at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He said an estimated 2,060 Hispanics lived there last year. In May, Fremont recorded just 4.9 percent unemployment, in line with the statewide rate and significantly lower than the national average of 9.7 percent.

If approved, the measure will require potential renters to apply for a license to rent. The application process will force Fremont officials to check if the renters are in the country legally. If they are found to be illegal, they will not be issued a license allowing them to rent.

The ordinance also requires businesses to use the federal E-Verify database to ensure employees are allowed to work.

Supporters of the proposal say it's needed to make up for what they see as lax federal law enforcement. Opponents say it could fuel discrimination.

Results are expected Monday night.

Ron Tillery, executive director of the Fremont Chamber of Commerce, which opposes the measure, said businesses are concerned the E-Verify system isn't reliable and that they would be subject to fines if forced to rely on it. He pointed out that the main targets of the ordinance -- the Fremont Beef and Hormel plants -- would not be covered by it anyway because they are located outside the city.

Walraven said the measure is necessary because workers send their salaries to family in Mexico instead of spending it in the city.

"I understand supporting your family," he said, "But it's very much at our expense. We're footing the bill."

Those costs include spending on education and medical care, said Jerry Hart, a Fremont resident who petitioned for the vote. He said the ordinance would help curb that spending and protect jobs.

He said it would also end the divisiveness that's taken over.

"The division is because the illegal aliens are here and nobody's taken care of it," he said. "If it does not pass, it's going to get worse."

The Fremont Tribune has reported several instances of legal Hispanic residents being told to return to Mexico, including a woman who was shoved and yelled at by an elderly white man in a grocery store.

Hart said he's been called a Nazi.

"Fear is kind of guiding," said Ostrom, adding that frustration about immigration issues nationwide ignites a misconception that all Hispanic immigrants in Fremont are illegal.

Sandra Leffler, 69, who owns a downtown antique store with her husband, Marv, said she knows not all Hispanics are illegal immigrants, but that it's hard not to think that way. She said she scrutinizes her Hispanic customers.

"I have to admit, when I see them come into the store ... I can't help wondering if I'm profiling someone who's completely honest," she said.

The Fremont City Council narrowly rejected a policy similar to the proposed ordinance in 2008, but proponents got it to a public vote and the state Supreme Court refused to block it.

The Nebraska chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has threatened a lawsuit, and the city worries about the cost of defending the policy. The city has estimated the legal action would cost $1 million per year to fight -- costs that would have to be covered by property tax raises and city job cuts.

Kansas City, Mo.-based attorney Kris Kobach, who worked on the Arizona law and has been in legal battles over local ordinances elsewhere, said Valley Park, Mo. paid between $250,000 and $300,000 in legal fees in a similar case. Valley Park, like Fremont, is covered by the 8th Circuit.

State Sen. Charlie Janssen of Fremont, who has said he may introduce an Arizona-style bill in the Legislature next session, said it's unfortunate residents have to decide how to vote amid threats of a lawsuit. He has declined to give his position on the ordinance, saying residents need to decide on their own.

"A vote for or against the ordinance does not make you more or less patriotic," he said in a posting on his legislative blog. "Just as a vote for or against the ordinance does not make you racist or not."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/06 ... crackdown/

Neb. town votes on illegal immigration measure

USA TODAY
Updated 3m ago

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — Voters in the eastern Nebraska city of Fremont were deciding Monday whether to ban hiring or renting property to illegal immigrants, the latest proposal in a series of immigration regulations taken up by communities around the country.

The town has watched as its Hispanic population surged in the past two decades, largely due to the jobs available at the nearby Fremont Beef and Hormel meatpacking plants. The city also has an enviably low unemployment rate that matches the Nebraska rate of 4.9%.

Nonetheless, residents worry that jobs are going to illegal immigrants who they fear could drain community resources. Proponents of the ballot measure collected enough signatures and fought in the Nebraska Supreme Court to put the question to a public vote.

UNEASY: Schools unsure of new Ariz. immigration law
IMMIGRATION LAW: Hispanics flee Arizona ahead of law
POLL: Sympathy on immigration, desire for secure borders

Supporters of the proposal say it's needed to make up for what they see as lax federal law enforcement. Opponents say it could fuel discrimination. If the ordinance is approved, the community of 25,000 people could also face a long and costly court battle.

Clint Walraven, 51, who has lived in Fremont all his life, said the jobs should go to legal residents who are unemployed — something he believes the ordinance would help fix. Discussions on the issue can get heated, he said, particularly if racism is mentioned.

"It has nothing to do with being racist," said. "We all have to play by the same rules. ... If you want to stay here, get legal."

From about 165 Hispanics — both legal and illegal — living in Fremont in 1990, the total surged to 1,085 in 2000, according to census expert David Drozd at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He said an estimated 2,060 Hispanics lived there last year.

Sandra Leffler, 69, who owns a downtown antique store with her husband, Marv, said she knows not all Hispanics are illegal immigrants, but that it's hard not to think that way. She said she scrutinizes her Hispanic customers.

"I have to admit, when I see them come into the store ... I can't help wondering if I'm profiling someone who's completely honest," she said.

The vote is the latest chapter in the tumult over illegal immigration across the country, including a recently passed Arizona law that will require police investigating another incident or crime to ask people about their immigration status if there's a "reasonable suspicion" they're in the country illegally.

Kansas City, Mo.-based attorney Kris Kobach, who helped write the Arizona law, has been working on the ordinance in Fremont. He is also running for secretary of state in Kansas.

If approved, the measure will require potential renters to apply for a license to rent. The application process will force Fremont officials to check if the renters are in the country legally. If they are found to be illegal, they will not be issued a license allowing them to rent. The ordinance also requires businesses to use the federal E-Verify database to ensure employees are allowed to work.

Communities that have passed such laws have faced costly legal bills and struggled to enforce them because of legal challenges. Hazleton, Pa., passed an ordinance in 2006 to fine landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and deny permits to businesses hiring them. The Dallas suburb of Farmers Branch also has tried for years to enforce a ban on landlords renting to illegal immigrants. Federal judges struck down both ordinances, but both are on appeal.
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I just heard on Greta that it has over 50 percent of the vote counted so far.

Nebraska town's early results support immigration law

by Josh Funk - Jun. 21, 2010 06:49 PM
Associated Press

FREMONT, Neb. - Many voters in the eastern Nebraska city of Fremont supported a ban on hiring or renting property to illegal immigrants, according to preliminary results from Monday's special election.

With votes from seven of 20 precincts counted, 58 percent of residents were supporting the measure — the latest proposal in a series of immigration regulations taken up by communities around the country. Full results were not expected until later Monday night.

The town has watched as its Hispanic population surged in the past two decades, largely due to the jobs available at the nearby Fremont Beef and Hormel meatpacking plants. The city also has an enviably low unemployment rate that matches the Nebraska rate of 4.9 percent.

Nonetheless, residents worry that jobs are going to illegal immigrants who they fear could drain community resources. Proponents of the ballot measure collected enough signatures and fought in the Nebraska Supreme Court to put the question to a public vote.

Supporters say the measure is needed to make up for what they see as lax federal law enforcement. Opponents say it could fuel discrimination. If the ordinance is approved, the community of 25,000 people could also face a long and costly court battle because the American Civil Liberties Union has promised to file a lawsuit.

Linda Nafziger said she voted for it because she doesn't think the community should be supporting illegal immigrants.

"I don't think we owe them a free ride," Nafziger said.

Clint Walraven, 51, who has lived in Fremont all his life, said the jobs should go to legal residents who are unemployed — something he believes the ordinance would help fix.

Discussions on the issue can get heated, he said, particularly if racism is mentioned

"It has nothing to do with being racist," said. "We all have to play by the same rules. ... If you want to stay here, get legal."

Rachel Fleming said she voted against the measure, noting that the U.S. is a nation of immigrants.

"This country has been founded on waves of immigration," Fleming said. "I just think it's (the ordinance) contrary to the spirit of the country."

From about 165 Hispanics — both legal and illegal — living in Fremont in 1990, the total surged to 1,085 in 2000, according to census expert David Drozd at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He said an estimated 2,060 Hispanics lived there last year.

The vote is the latest chapter in the tumult over illegal immigration across the country, including a recently passed Arizona law that will require police investigating another incident or crime to ask people about their immigration status if there's a "reasonable suspicion" they're in the country illegally. Kansas City, Mo.-based attorney Kris Kobach, who helped write the Arizona law, has been working on the ordinance in Fremont. He is also running for secretary of state in Kansas

If approved, the measure will require potential renters to apply for a license to rent. The application process will force Fremont officials to check if the renters are in the country legally. If they are found to be illegal, they will not be issued a license allowing them to rent. The ordinance also requires businesses to use the federal E-Verify database to ensure employees are allowed to work.

Communities that have passed such laws have faced costly legal bills and struggled to enforce them because of legal challenges. Hazleton, Pa., passed an ordinance in 2006 to fine landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and deny permits to businesses hiring them. The Dallas suburb of Farmers Branch also has tried for years to enforce a ban on landlords renting to illegal immigrants. Federal judges struck down both ordinances, but both are on appeal.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... -vote.html

Thank-you Nebraska for this bit of good news, stay strong and hold your ground.