FREMONT – Angered by a recent influx of Hispanic workers attracted by jobs at local meatpacking plants, voters in a small town in Nebraska were to decide today whether to ban hiring or renting property to illegal immigrants.
The vote will be the culmination of a two-year fight where proponents collected enough signatures to put the question to a public vote. If the ordinance is approved, Fremont, with a population of 25,000, could face a long and costly court battle. Either way, the emotions stirred up won’t settle quickly.
“Even if we say ‘no’ … we still need to say, ‘How do we get along with each other now’?” said Kristin Ostrom, who helps oversee a campaign against the measure. Across the United States, people have been outraged by – and demanded action against – the poor enforcement of federal laws to prevent illegal immigration.
A law recently introduced in Arizona requires police to question people on their immigration status if there’s a “reasonable suspicion” they are illegal. A man who helped write the Arizona law is helping to fight for the ordinance in Fremont, whose Hispanic population has surged in the past two decades.
That increase is largely because they were recruited to work for the Fremont Beef and Hormel plants, and the city maintains an enviably low unemployment rate. Clint Walraven, who has lived in Fremont all his 51 years, said the jobs should go to legal residents who are unemployed – something he believes the ordinance would help fix.
When he worked at the Hormel plant in the 1980s, Walraven said, he had one Hispanic co-worker. In May, Fremont recorded just 4.9 per cent unemployment, in line with the statewide rate and significantly lower than the national average of 9.7 per cent. If approved, the measure will require potential renters to apply for a licence to rent.
The application process will force Fremont officials to check if the renters are in the country legally. If they are found to be illegal, they will not be issued a licence allowing them to rent. The ordinance also requires businesses to use a federal database to ensure that employees are allowed to work.
Supporters of the proposal say it’s needed to make up for what they see as lax federal law enforcement.
Opponents say it could fuel discrimination.
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