Fremont may suspend new law

The likelihood that a voter-approved immigration law will go into effect next week as scheduled in Fremont, Neb., grew even shakier Friday.

First, the U.S. District Court in Omaha scheduled a hearing for next Wednesday on a temporary restraining order sought by two civil rights groups.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund contend in separate lawsuits that the Fremont ordinance usurps federal authority, is unconstitutional and discriminates against Latinos. They’ve asked Judge Laurie Smith Camp to stop the ban on housing and hiring of illegal immigrants.

Shortly after the hearing was scheduled, Fremont officials issued a press release saying the City Council will consider suspending the immigration law at its Tuesday night meeting.

“Given the size of our city, we will make a decision based on the best interest of the citizens of Fremont,” Council President Scott Getzschman said. “As we evaluate legal challenges ahead, we need to look at our resources carefully.”

If the City Council votes to suspend, the Wednesday federal court hearing may not be necessary.
City officials noted that they have until Aug. 12 to answer the lawsuits filed to block the ordinance.
Fremont officials also postponed informational sessions scheduled next week for landlords and employers until the council makes its decision on the suspension.

Kris Kobach, a Kansas City attorney who represented the pro-ordinance Fremont petitioners before the Nebraska Supreme Court, said a move by the city to temporarily suspend enforcement — until a decision is made on the full case — is a tactic used also by other cities in Fremont’s position.

Indeed, Kobach said he recommends that the City Council do so. He said it would save money, some legal maneuvering and also allow the court to move more swiftly to a judgment on the full merits of the case.

Kobach has not been formally selected to defend the city and its ordinance, but he said Friday that he has been informally advising Fremont’s attorney.

The City Council may decide on its representation at its Tuesday night meeting, said the Friday press release.

Kobach said he was not surprised by anything in the lawsuits filed. He said they are attempting the same arguments made against illegal immigration ordinances in other cities.

To date, no U.S. court has upheld a law that bans housing to undocumented workers, ACLU and MALDEF note.

However, Kobach said an employment-based ordinance in Valley Park, Mo., was upheld by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The St. Louis suburb never implemented its law, though, because the Missouri Legislature adopted one for the state that superseded the city’s, the Valley Park city attorney has said.

The Fremont ordinance is both housing and employment based. It seeks to ban illegal immigrants from renting or working in Fremont by punishing landlords and employers who house or hire them.

Renters would be required to provide the city with personal information that would lead to the issuance of an occupancy license.

Employers would be required to check the status of applicants by using E-Verify, an electronic verification system that the ACLU and others say is flawed.

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