by Jennifer Chappels
Fremont, Nebraska, pop. 25,000, jumped on the anti-immigrant bandwagon June 21 when residents passed an ordinance designed to preven undocumented persons from renting property or getting a job.
No date has been set for the law to take effect.
“Fremont is an example of ‘If Washington won’t, Nebraskans will,’” said Bob Dane, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which supports tougher enforcement.
Approximately 2,000 residents are Latino, a number that has grown considerably in the last two decades. The city offered no estimate as to how many are undocumented.
Ann Morse, director of the Immigrant Policy Project at the National Conference of State Legislators, told Weekly Report, “When I talk to legislators, they say this is their way of signaling they want federal immigration reform to happen — that they care deeply about the issue, they’re working within the parameters they have, sometimes at the edge, trying to get federal attention.
Fremont is also signaling it isn’t necessary for a state to be tangent to a national border for it to want immigration reform. People within the city are deeply divided over the issue. One opponent, Kristin Ostrom, said, “Unfortunately, people have voted for an ordinance…that says to the Hispanic community that the Anglo community is saying they are not welcome here.”
Laurel Marsh, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Nebraska, said, “If this law goes into effect, it will cause discrimination and racial profiling against Latinos and others who appear to be foreign– born, including U.S. citizens.
Marsh viewed the ordinance as un-American, unconstitutional and in violation of federal law. She said that ACLU Nebraska will challenge it in court before it goes into effect. Other cities such as Hazleton, Pa., and Farmers Branch, Texas, are already involved in drawn-out legal battles involving anti-immigrant ordinances. South Carolina, Minnesota,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Michigan are considering legislation that will mimic Arizona’s stance on the issue.
In other related news:
NALEO survey sees big Latino turnout Likely in November
by Alex Galbraith
A National Associa- tion of Latino Elected and Appointed Offi cials survey projects a hefty Latino voter turnout for California, Texas, Florida and Colorado during their midterm elec- tions this year. The survey also reveals what issues will help Latinos steer their votes toward one candidate or another.
Of the 1,600 Hispanic registered voters surveyed by NALEO — 400 in each of the four states — 75 per- cent said they intend to vote in November, a drastic shift in a usually low-turnout non -presidential election year.
Though candidates may stir troubled waters by speaking against certain is- sues, the 2010 litmus test for Latinos is immigration.
“The issue of immigra-tion has a clearimpact on the importance of these elections to Latino voters,” said a state- ment from Latino Research and Communications, the company responsible for the survey. “46 percent of voters claim they are more likely to vote due to the immigration issue.”
Of the voters surveyed, 27 percent said that a candidate’s stance on im- migration reform was the most important issue, with 33 percent saying immigra- tion was in their top three concerns.
An additional 40 per-cent of respondents said they would withhold their vote from a candidate they would normally support should the candidate’s stance on an issue differ from their own.
Unemployment ranked as the secondmost impor- tant issue to Latinos. Some 15 percent said it was the most important issue and 22 percent said it was in their top three.
The majority of re-spondents agreed that candidates weren’t making enough of an effort to con- nect with their Hispanic constituents. No candidate in any state received more than 35 percent agree- ment with the question: “Has this candidate made an effort to reach Latino voters?”
“When it comes to reaching out to these voters,”said a statement from LRC, “all of the can- didates have some work to do.” Hispanic Link.
