Fremont, Neb. councilman: Vote couldn't wait
By JEAN ORTIZWednesday, Jul 30, 2008 - 10:46:41 am CDT
FREMONT, Neb. - The Fremont city councilman who pushed up a vote on an illegal-immigration issue said Wednesday that he couldn't allow the issue to linger.

Though the council was scheduled to vote Aug. 26 on a proposal banning renting to and hiring illegal immigrants, Councilman Scott Getzschman said that after more than three hours of public testimony late Tuesday night, it became apparent there wasn't anything to gain by waiting.

"To drag it on for another month wasn't going to do anything but harm to the city of Fremont," Getzschman said.

The council voted 7-1 to suspend its rules and make its decision.

The ensuing vote came down 4-4 to kill the proposal. Mayor Don "Skip" Edwards broke the tie.

"This weighs very heavily on me," he said.

He said he had talked about the proposal with Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning and other attorneys. "We all agreed control is a federal issue," he said.

Bruning has kept some distance from the issue because it is a city matter but has agreed that a related 1997 opinion stands.

That opinion said the state had no authority to impose sanctions against businesses for employing illegal immigrants.

City Attorney Dean Skokan has previously brought that opinion to the council's attention, saying the city didn't have authority, either.

Getzschman and Edwards agreed Wednesday that although the proposal was killed, discussion is not over.

"Last night and this last month has been an eye-opener for the community, and there are definitely issues here," Getzschman said.

Edwards said he favors creating a task force to address some of the problems. The city needs to put pressure on federal officials and the Nebraska congressional delegation to help move the issue off center, Edwards said.

During testimony before the vote Tuesday, resident Sylvia Sanchez asked the council to proceed in a way that would not divide the community, spark hatred and destroy families.

"I'm here to ask you all to look into your hearts and ask yourself if this is truly the right thing to do," she said.

Supporters, meanwhile expressed their frustration over lax enforcement by federal officials. They pointed to medical costs, job losses and increased crime among the impact illegal immigrants have had.

The law is needed because if enough cities take such measures perhaps it could grab federal officials' attention, resident Marv Eden said.

"Maybe Congress would wake up," he said.

The proposal _ the first of its kind for a Nebraska city _ has stirred strong opinion in this community of 25,000.

Out of concerns for safety, law enforcement had a heavy presence at Tuesday's meeting, which attracted more than 1,000 people. At least three dozen officers from the Fremont Police, Dodge County Sheriff's Department and Nebraska State Patrol were on hand manning doorways, looking on from auditorium aisles and watching activity in the parking lots.

Metal detectors also were set up and bags were searched upon entry into the building.

Fremont is one of a handful of Nebraska cities that has seen marked demographic changes primarily because of mostly Hispanic work forces at meatpacking plants.

Hazleton, Pa., Escondido, Calif., and Riverside, N.J., are among several U.S. cities that have attempted similar measures aimed at slowing or halting illegal immigration. Those cities' actions have attracted legal challenges primarily because the federal government has maintained it has the only authority on the matter.

Fremont's proposal was revised last week to include hiring provisions. It would have required all businesses in city limits to use a federal Internet-based employment verification system. Businesses that didn't comply could have lost their licenses, permits or contracts with the city.

Large employers in the area, including Fremont Beef and Hormel, are already using the system, though both plants are outside city limits and would not have been subject to the proposal.

The ordinance also would have prohibited renting to and harboring illegal immigrants. Renters would have had to secure $5 occupancy licenses to prove their legal status. Renters without licenses or landlords renting to people without occupancy licenses would have been subject to a fine of $100.


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