Posted on 07/21/2010 10:57:10 AM PDT by fight_truth_decay
OMAHA, Neb. -- A second federal lawsuit has been filed against a Nebraska city to stop its new ordinance that bans hiring and renting to illegal immigrants.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit Wednesday. Earlier in the day, the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund filed a similar lawsuit against the ban.
Fremont city attorney Dean Skokan (skoh-KAN') says he couldn't comment because he hadn't yet seen either lawsuit.
ACLU Nebraska legal director Amy Miller says the law "encourages discrimination and racial profiling against Latinos and others who appear to be foreign-born, including U.S. citizens."
Her organization will also seek a preliminary injunction to try to stop the ordinance from taking effect on July 29 as scheduled.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below;
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - A Latino civil rights group filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against a small Nebraska city to stop its new ordinance that bans people from hiring or renting homes to illegal immigrants.
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, also known as MALDEF, said in its lawsuit that the ordinance is unconstitutional because it discriminates against Latinos based on their national origin and deprives them of due process. The group also contends it violates the federal Fair Housing Act.
Fremont City Attorney Dean Skokan said Wednesday he had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment on it. Officials anticipated challenges to the ban.
"We expect a minimum of about three lawsuits," Skokan said.
The American Civil Liberties Union said it would file its lawsuit against the ordinance on Wednesday.
The ban, which was approved by voters in June, is set to go into effect on July 29. The ordinance put Fremont on the list with Arizona and a few other cities in the national debate over immigration regulations. The community about 35 miles northwest of Omaha has seen its Hispanic population surge in the past two decades, largely due to the jobs available at the nearby Fremont Beef and Hormel plants.
MALDEF already has seen some success in fighting such ordinances, including a ban on renting to illegal immigrants in Farmers Branch, Texas, that is similar to Fremont's ordinance. 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 such 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.
The ACLU's lawsuit charges that Fremont's law is at odds with the clear constitutional mandate imposing a uniform federal immigration enforcement system and has a discriminatory effect on those who look or sound "foreign."
"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 accent, never goes into effect. 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."
The Fremont ordinance was passed by voters on June 21 and is scheduled to go into effect on July 29. It requires 'prospective' renters to provide the Fremont Police Department with information about their citizenship or immigration status prior to renting any home. Employers are required to check the status of would-be hires using E-Verify, a 'flawed' federal electronic verification program that Congress has repeatedly 'declined' to make mandatory.
We need to hold a fund raiser in order to accumulate enough cash so that we can purchase a home,RIGHT NEXT DOOR to ACLU leadership.
Then we offer discount rental rates to every illegal who wants to live there and then place 20 or 30 illegals into the house.
Film and post the reaction of the ACLU leader when HE/SHE has to deal with the illegal issue in their neighborhood.
And once this is all settled as legal, all these communities should file a class action lawsuit against the ACLU and recover their legal costs.
No need. Under the civil rights statutes the prevailing party is entitled to attorney fees. All they have to do is win.
Good idea. ACLU is evil, using lawsuits as means of extortion.
Top priortity to the illegals that have comitted the worse crimes get to move in next to ACLU* headquarters.
*Anti Commonsense Liar’s Union
MALDEF is NOT properly named.
How about Mexican Non-American Legal Defense and Education Fund ? MNLDEF ?
Or Mexican Illegal Alien Legal Defense and Education Fund ?
MIALDEF ?
Either is more accurate. But like most liberals, the words they say have little to do with what they mean.
Welcome to our world. Signed: The Citizens of Farmers Branch, TX.
“And once this is all settled as legal,”....
Unfortunately they are not all being settled as legal....
“A federal judge in March found that the Farmers Branch ordinance was unconstitutional. “
I don’t see how it would be unconstitutional if ALL people were required to show legal citizenship/residency before being allowed to rent.
These things need to be fought all the way to SCOTUS. The problem for small towns is there is no ACLU for Americans.
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