Thread: NE: State housing commission to lose federal funding due to

NE: State housing commission to lose federal funding due to illegal immigration case
Friday, Apr 18, 2008 - 09:19:50 am CDT
The Associated Press
http://www.beatricedailysun.com/article ... 411032.txt

OMAHA - A federal agency is immediately pulling funding from a Nebraska commission designed to fight housing discrimination, citing in part the state attorney general’s refusal to prosecute a case on behalf of two illegal immigrants.

A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development official said Thursday that it would no longer reimburse the state for pursuing discrimination cases and would stop forwarding complaints it receives to the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission.

[b]“We believe that the people of Nebraska are not gaining their full rights under federal fair housing laws - so we can’t let that happen,â€

Good Cut em' off.

I love you Jon Bruning. He thinks American taxpayers should not have to pay for illegal immigrants to sue Americans. What a noble concept.

The case was not one he could win. The apartment owner was concerned about too many people living in one apt. The illegal immigrants were asked to produce ID to prove they were lease holders of the apt. What is wrong with that?

According to the Executive Director of the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission and the Attorney General, the landlord asked the complainants to provide drivers’ licenses after becoming concerned that too many people were living in the apartment.

So the landlord didn’t deny them housing, he just asked for legal proof of their identity.

So what’s the problem? Any landlord should have the right to know who is occupying the space they are renting out and I assume that the city has “occupancy regulationsâ€

I've never rented a house or apartment without having to show my driver's license and having to write down on the lease who would be living there. Landlords shouldn't have to accept multiple people living in one apartment. That makes it unsanitary for one thing, not to mention increase wear and tear, increase the amount of utilities used, and who wants people living in a property they own when those people haven't been checked out. Maybe the landlord wants to assure himself that none of the occupants are child molesters, have violent pasts, or are into drugs, either using or selling. Maybe he didn't want transients living there, messing the place up. If those illegal tenants were so offended by him trying to protect his property, they should have bought their own and did whatever they wanted. When I lived in the NE, there was a law saying only this many people could live in an apartment or house with this many bedrooms, and only this many "unrelated" people could live on the same property, to prevent a bunch of people from living in a space not big enough for all of them, just because it is so unsanitary. All states should have that law.

State AGs




4/18/2008
AG's refusal to take illegal immigrants' case threatens federal funding
by Chris Rizo

Jon Bruning
LINCOLN, Neb. (Legal Newsline)-Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning's failure to prosecute a case on behalf of two illegal immigrants could cost the state federal funding aimed at fighting discrimination.

Earlier this month, after the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission forwarded him the latest case involving the illegal immigrants, Bruning said the state should consider shutting down the commission entirely.

Taxpayer money, he added, should not be used to pursue a case on behalf of an illegal immigrant, even if there was a legitimate complaint.

A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said Thursday that it would no longer reimburse the state for pursuing discrimination cases and would stop forwarding complaints it receives to the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission.

The Nebraska commission would lose $240,000 annually if federal officials stop paying the state for each complaint it investigates.

In addition to fair housing complaints, the commission also investigates cases of alleged job discrimination and public accommodation cases.

The commission says it has forwarded 41 cases to Bruning's office, but only one was prosecuted and none has gone to trial. Bruning's office, however, says it has actually pursued 22 of the 58 cases it has received from the commission.

In a statement, Bruning said his office and the commission reached an understanding Thursday on how to proceed with reviewing and prosecuting housing discrimination cases.

He said following Thursday's meeting, he has "confidence that we share a common goal of prosecuting only those cases where discrimination can be proven in court."

From Legal Newsline: Reach reporter Chris Rizo by e-mail at chrisrizo@legalnewsline.com.

http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/21111 ... al-funding

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Short-lived Bruning, NEOC agreement falls apart
BY NANCY HICKS / Lincoln Journal Star
Friday, Apr 18, 2008 - 05:30:30 pm CDT

An agreement between the attorney general’s office and the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission to work together on cases of alleged discrimination fell apart Friday after Attorney General Jon Bruning insisted he would not file any cases on behalf of illegal immigrants.

In two separate meetings with reporters earlier Friday morning, Bruning and NEOC chairman Arnold Nesbitt said the two agencies had agreed to work together to make sure the commission does not lose about $240,000 in federal funds.

Details of the agreement would be worked out during the next 10 days, both said.

But at his news conference later Friday morning, Bruning reiterated that his office would not file any cases on behalf of illegal immigrants.

That announcement was a deal breaker, according to Anne Hobbs, NEOC executive director.

After learning about Bruning’s comments to reporters, the commission held an emergency meeting and unanimously agreed that Hobbs should seek advice from outside counsel, Hobbs said.

NEOC commissioners had believed the agreement would include taking cases that involved undocumented individuals, as required by state and federal law, Hobbs said.

The NEOC and Bruning had said they hoped the agreement would lead to better cooperation between the two agencies and restoration of about $240,000 a year in federal funding to the state commission.

This week, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development suspended all complaint referrals and federal funding to the state agency and gave the NEOC 30 days to improve its relationship with the attorney general’s office.

HUD already has pulled the roughly 19 cases currently being investigated by the Nebraska commission staff, with a corresponding loss of between $40,000 and $45,000, Hobbs said.

A HUD official said late Friday afternoon that the agency will continue to monitor the situation and work with the state commission.

“Well, the situation is still in flux, obviously,â€