A federal judge Wednesday declined to immediately rule on requests by civil rights groups to block a voter-approved law in Fremont that bans the hiring of illegal immigrants and renting to them.
U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp questioned whether the issue was one for state or federal court. She asked both sides to submit written arguments in two weeks.
Attorneys on both sides agreed that the ordinance is appropriate for federal review, but Smith Camp chose to err on the side of caution.
“I’m not going to tackle a case when I have big concerns about subject matter jurisdiction,” she said.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska and the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund have filed lawsuits arguing that Fremont’s ordinance is discriminatory. They say only the federal government has authority to set immigration law.
Both groups sought temporary injunctions from the judge to stop the ordinance from being enforced while the lawsuits proceed.
Any sense of urgency associated with the court hearing was tempered after Fremont’s City Council voted Tuesday to suspend the ordinance in anticipation of costly legal challenges.
City officials also said they believed Smith Camp would block the law.
Fremont officials have estimated that it would cost taxpayers up to $1 million a year to defend the law. They said the city would have to spend $200,000 annually to cover the staffing to enforce it.
Smith Camp’s request for more information came on the same day a federal judge blocked the most controversial parts of Arizona’s immigration law from taking effect.
That law still will take effect Thursday, but without controverial sections including one that required police officers to check a person’s immigration status while enforcing other laws.
Also on hold are parts of the law that required immigrants to carry their papers at all times and made it illegal for undocumented workers to solicit employment in public places.
In addition, the judge blocked officers from making warrantless arrests of suspected illegal immigrants.
This report includes material from the Associated Press.
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