Two groups sue Nebraska city over immigration law

OMAHA, Neb. -- Two civil-rights groups filed separate federal lawsuits Wednesday against a small Nebraska city to stop its new ordinance that bans people from hiring or renting homes to illegal immigrants.

Both lawsuits said the ordinance amounted to discrimination. The suits were filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund, also known as MALDEF.

"This law encourages discrimination and racial profiling against Latinos and others who appear to be foreign-born, including U.S. citizens," said Amy Miller, legal director of ACLU Nebraska. "We're going to do all we can to make sure this extreme law, which would lead to individuals losing housing and jobs because of their appearance and language ability, never goes into effect."

Fremont city attorney Dean Skokan said Wednesday he had not seen the lawsuits and could not comment on them. Officials anticipated challenges to the ban.

The ban, which voters approved in June, is set to go into effect July 29. It put Fremont on the list with Arizona and a few other cities in the national debate over immigration regulations. Arizona's sweeping law also takes effect July 29 and requires police who stop people suspected of violating a law to check the immigration status of anyone they think is in the country illegally.

"Nebraska doesn't need a law on its books that, like Arizona's, is completely out of step with American values of fairness and equality," Miller said.

Both lawsuits charge that Fremont's law is at odds with the constitutional mandate imposing a uniform federal immigration enforcement system. The suits also contend the ordinance violates the federal Fair Housing Act and the equal protection and due process clauses of the U.S. Constitution, among other things.

"The Fremont ordinance is so vague, they actually are talking about people like me," said Shirley Mora James of Lincoln, the attorney who filed the MALDEF lawsuit and is a third-generation Mexican American. "If I want to live in Fremont, and I want to rent, I will have to prove my citizenship. I believe that's a violation of my civil rights. I don't think after two generations in this country that I have to prove I am a U.S. citizen."

Fremont's ban has divided the community of about 25,000 that's 35 miles northwest of Omaha. The city's seen its Hispanic population surge in the past two decades, largely due to the jobs available at the nearby Fremont Beef and Hormel plants.

While the ordinance requires businesses in the city to use the federal E-Verify database to ensure employees are allowed to work, the two meatpacking plants lie outside city limits -- and both already use the E-Verify system.

Hormel officials have said there have been no federal immigration investigations at the Fremont plant. In March, federal authorities indicted more than a dozen people on immigration violations after an investigation at the Fremont Beef plant. Fremont Beef did not immediately return a message left Wednesday.

Supporters of the Fremont ordinance argue the measure was necessary to make up for what they see as lax federal law enforcement. Opponents say it could fuel discrimination.

The measure also requires potential renters to apply for a license to rent. The application process will force Fremont officials to check whether the renters are in the country legally. If they are found to be illegal, they will not be issued a rent license.

MALDEF has fought similar ordinances, including a ban on renting to illegal immigrants in Farmers Branch, Texas. A federal judge in March found that the Farmers Branch ordinance was unconstitutional.

Fremont officials have been watching that Texas town and others across the country that have passed similar bans. Fremont officials cited Farmers Branch in a list of estimated legal costs that other cities have racked up in defending their bans. Fremont officials have estimated that its costs of implementing the ordinance -- including the legal fees, employee overtime and improved computer software -- will average $1 million a year.