This month, Fremont City Councilman Bob Warner introduced an ordinance that would have banned undocumented immigrants from renting or working in the city.
Renters would now be required to apply for a $5 "Renter's License" by showing proof of citizenship, while employers would have been required to verify the legal status of workers through a troubled Federal database. Employers found to be in violation of the ordinance would have contracts cut off, or have loan repayment schedules sped up.
All eyes were on Fremont as the ordinance was scheduled for a public hearing on Tuesday the 29. I headed up to Fremont with some friends to watch the national debate on undocumented workers play out at the hometown level.
Hundreds showed up, packing the Fremont High auditorium to capacity. Police officers turned away well over one hundred people before the meeting began.
Public comments were allowed - separated into two lines, one for opponents and one for supporters. Through dozens of speakers, each side outlined their main arguments.
Opponents said that the resolution was simply not within the jurisdiction of a mere city council, and that immigration law is well-guarded federal turf. On this, they were 100 percent correct - the federal government has made it abundantly clear that immigration law is a federal, and not a state, issue.
But in addition to the legal issues, the opposition weaved powerful personal narratives about the fundamental flaws of the federal immigration system. Families separated, husbands and wives unable to see each other for years, and children left without parents - not due to people being denied entrance into our country, but simply because of paperwork.
There exists years of backlog in the federal immigration bureaucracy, with thousands of would-be legal immigrants kept out of our country for the sole reason that the government could not file paperwork fast enough. The argument came forth that yes, these workers did come here illegally - but they were only violating a broken, unworkable set of laws.
They accused those in favor of the resolution of pandering to - and supporting - racial prejudice.
Supporters said that it wasn't about racism - the law is the law, and it ought to be enforced. On this, they were also correct. The integrity of the U.S. legal system rests on enforcement of the laws.
But yet, many of these supporters recognized the inefficiency and unfairness inherent in the immigration system.
As they said, laws are still laws.
A problem occurs here, however. What if these are indeed bad laws, that do nothing but impede people from living decent lives? Supporters acknowledge this, yet they still back the ordinance.
They supported it in spite of the fact that Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning said it was a Federal issue.
They supported it in spite of the fact that Fremont City Attorney Dean Skokan said it was a federal issue.
They supported it in spite of the fact that similar legislation has been struck down in other cities (see Hazelton, PA).
So why introduce this resolution, why vote for it, why come out and speak volumes in favor of it when you know it is going to be struck down, and you know that it is in support of bad law?
Let's put it simply: racial prejudice is still alive and well in Nebraska.
Public comments backed this up. Nebraskans in the "support" line told of criminal activity by "those people," they invoked the language of war, saying that there is an "invasion" of our territory. This language comes from a clearly prejudiced place; Councilman Warner's proposed ordinance stoked the fires of racial resentment.
The resolution was defeated, with a 4-4 tie among the councilmen being broken by an "against" vote from Fremont Mayor Don "Skip" Edwards. Edwards said he saw problems with undocumented workers, but felt that passing this resolution was not the way to deal with them.
Sadly, striking the ordinance down will not be enough to put this genie back in the bottle. Discrimination has now been legitimized, and given a much larger voice.
The eyes of Nebraska were indeed on Fremont this week, and we all learned a stark lesson. There is racial resentment about to boil over in small-town Nebraska.
Our leaders can choose to help that resentment boil over with mindless resolutions, or they can go to work on programs that help all Nebraskans live together.
Unfortunately for Nebraska, Councilman Warner already made his decision.
jeff hall is a senior secondary education major. reach him at jeffhall@dailynebraskan.com
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