Fremont will seek court ruling on immigration ordinance
By Don Bowen/Fremont TribuneTuesday, Mar 10, 2009 - 09:53:41 pm CDT

Fremont city attorney Dean Skokan plans to ask the Dodge County District Court to rule on initiative petitions seeking a special election on an ordinance aimed to curb illegal immigration.

At the regular meeting of the Fremont City Council Tuesday night, council members approved a resolution that authorizes Skokan to seek a declaratory judgment from the court to see if the city can legally proceed with the proposed ordinance outlined in the petitions.

The proposed ordinance would ban the hiring, harboring or renting to any illegal immigrant within the city limits.

Skokan said he planned to file for the judgment Wednesday morning shortly after the Dodge County Courthouse opened.

He said state laws don’t let a timeframe on when such a motion should be examined by the court but state laws do give these matters more weight over other cases in district court.

Skokan was asked why it took so long for this to be reviewed when the issue has been pressing since July when the proposed ordinance was defeated with a split vote of the city council. He said the city didn’t have the authority to file the motion in district court until the petitions were turned in.

“This is the earliest it could have been done,â€