This morning, the USSC took a pass on hearing the Fremont, Nebraska case involving renting to illegal immigrants. The law, authored by Kansas Secretary of State (who seems to be so busy working for other states and ALEC who knows what he does here) says that you cannot rent property to a person unless they can prove they are a legal citizen OR they can show they have a valid work VISA.
http://abcnews.go.com/...
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision not to review a Nebraska city's ordinance that bans renting homes to immigrants living in the country illegally could open the door to similar laws elsewhere, supporters said Monday, though they're likely to encounter fresh legal challenges.
In other words: if you're an illegal immigrant, we expect you to be homeless.
The Fremont ordinance requires renters to get a $5 permit and swear that they have legal permission to live in the United States. First approved in 2010, the ordinance has survived several legal challenges and an attempt to repeal it at the ballot box in February.
The high court on Monday let stand an appeals court ruling that found the ordinance does not discriminate against Latinos or interfere with federal immigration laws.
"This is a final and complete victory for Fremont," said Kobach, who serves as Kansas' secretary of state. "It is beyond question that every city in the 8th Circuit has the ability to adopt the Fremont ordinance, word for word."
So what has happened in the town of Fremont?
Fremont, Nebraska has seen growth in many communities, most notably the hispanic community which has grown almost 30 fold since the 1990 census to the 2010 census. It seems as though jobs that are coming in at Hormel and other nearby beef packing facilities are providing good work for those that want it.
What is the impact of this law, though? After all, renters aren't 'penalized' as Kobach is quick to point out. They just have to go to the court house, put themselves on a list and swear a statement that says they are legal citizens plus pay five dollars.
Step back for a second. Think about that.
"These laws are ugly, unproductive and inconsistent with our national values," Saenz said. "There has to be a very serious opposition to these kinds of laws, because they're anti-business and anti-human rights."
And what about to the community?
.
Fremont resident Virginia Meyer, who helped organize the unsuccessful repeal effort, said the ordinance has proven divisive and painted the city in a negative light. When she heard the news Monday, Meyer said she was torn between disappointment that the ordinance would stand and relief that the bitter legal fight might soon end and allow the town to heal.
"I've seen firsthand what this ordinance has done to Fremont," she said. "It seems to have distracted our town from working on other things that are really important. I wouldn't want to see this happening in other communities."
When we fill the air with suspicion of our fellow neighbor, and we ask them to put themselves on a list, we are clearly giving them unequal treatment. While they say repeatedly 'this is not aimed at Hispanics', I challenge anyone who enforces this law to show me a middle class white family who was forced to go to the court house and swear out a statement they were American citizens before they could rent.
Still, Kobach sees a bright future in legislation like this:
http://fusion.net/...
The Nebraska law was drafted by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a well-known figure who helped write a controversial bill aimed at curbing illegal immigration in Arizona. Most aspects of that law, called SB 1070, were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court two years ago.
Kobach said he would help other municipalities covered by the eighth circuit court adopt measures similar to the one in Nebraska.
“I am not out there recruiting cities, by any stretch, but if other cities do want to move forward now that the legal landscape is clear, then I’m certainly willing to hear them,” he told Fusion. “All they have to do is adopt the Fremont ordinance word-for-word and they will be 100 percent secure against any legal challenge.”
Oh, I'm not recruiting more cities.. but here, let me give them my best sales pitch.
That's right. Kris Kobach. Kansas Attorney General. One of the lead drafters for ALEC.
You think Immigration reform doesn't matter? Imagine setting up cities all over the midwest where landlords were couldn't rent to you, and your homelessness was a fact of life under the law.
That's conservative compassion.
(PS, sorry for all the diaries today, I normally don't do 3 in a day, but there have been 6 BIG stories today, including one on Brownback going live on the air saying he thinks the FBI probe of his office is a federal witch hunt of his office.. it's been that kind of day)