Task force shares ideas on illegal aliens
By Jean Ortiz The Associated Press
Thursday, Nov 13, 2008 - 11:36:20 am CST

FREMONT -- A Fremont task force is suggesting the city adopt some pieces of a failed proposal to ban renting to or hiring illegal immigrants, such as fining employers who don’t check their workers’ legal status.

Members also suggest new ideas in a report presented to the city council Wednesday, including educating employers and others in the community to combat the problem.

But it will be up to the council whether the recommendations go beyond mere suggestions.

The task force formed in August. Its report incorporates some elements of a proposal defeated in July by the council during a tense public hearing that drew a crowd of more than 1,000. The ordinance would have banned renting to and hiring illegal immigrants within city limits.

The task force supports requiring employers to use a federal Internet-based employment verification system, called E-Verify. The system is now used voluntarily by some businesses.

Employers could be fined or their business operations halted if they knowingly hired illegal immigrants, under the task force’s proposal

The task force wants the city to educate employers about developing proper hiring procedures to comply with immigration laws. Employers, for example, need to understand how to use E-Verify and I-9 forms, which also are used to determine employment verification.

Employers also need to know what to do when they have reasonable suspicion they’ve identified an illegal immigrant, according to the report.

The task force has also asked the council to adopt a statement expressing support of legal immigration.

Among the other recommendations:

n Press Gov. Dave Heineman or Attorney General Jon Bruning to co-sponsor a statewide summit to open the lines of communication with federal immigration authorities, building a stronger relationship as Fremont says it has in recent months.

n Encourage local schools to require a cultural awareness class teaching students about the immigration issues that Fremont faces.

n Press state and federal officials to improve enforcement of laws already in place and help those at the local level do so.

The report does not address any of the renting provisions included in the council’s original proposal, nor does it quantify the severity of illegal immigration in Fremont.

The task force included more than two dozen members, including council members, law enforcement and residents.

The group has been criticized as “lip serviceâ€