Trial on Fremont law delayed


It will be next year before the trial in the legal challenge of Fremont’s illegal immigration ordinance gets under way.

A federal judge on Thursday rescheduled the trial for April 2012. It had been scheduled to start March 15.

The voter-approved ordinance, which is on hold pending legal challenges, bans hiring and renting to illegal immigrants in Fremont.

U.S. Magistrate Judge F.A. Gossett granted a request from the plaintiffs for more time to prepare for the non-jury trial, a lawyer involved in the case said.

Kris Kobach, representing the City of Fremont, said the new trial date was not unexpected.

“This is not at all unusual for a federal court to provide plaintiffs an extended period of time to look for facts that support their case,’’ Kobach said in a statement.

The lawsuits challenging the ordinance were filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska and other parties.

The ordinance would require employers to use a federal online system to check whether a person is permitted to work in the United States

It also would require people seeking to rent property in Fremont to apply for a $5 permit at City Hall.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20110218/NEWS97/702189921