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LINK to what this is about I did 18 years in Fremont so when I bitch at this town I'm doing it from an insider's perspective. So you'll all remember Fremont's national-news making law which requires all adults in the rental market to acquire a license in order to rent, which to obtain you must prove citizenship (or right to be in America legally, as a worker). While this may seem innocuous on the surface, it is clearly aimed at one segment of the population (illegal immigrants) and will have a larger impact on legal immigrants or Americans of Latino descent who "look foreign," and that description comes from a Fremonter. The employment portion of this law went into effect in 2010, but the housing portion has been suspended while they figure out the constitutionality of the law. In a recent split decision the US 8th Circuit, which has jurisdiction over Nebraska (among other states) upheld the constitutionality of the law by saying the plaintiffs failed to show that there was a "viable alternative means" that would not have the same discriminatory effect. Basically, since they couldn't provide the courts with a plan that would guarantee the folks trying to rent weren't illegal, the court upheld the law. But it was an extremely divided decision, with not two opinions being handed down (a decision and a dissent, which is typical), but three opinions. The ruling was divisive enough that even the two judges who agreed to uphold the law (or parts of it, go read about it if you care) couldn't agree on exactly why it should be upheld. The dissent noted, correctly, that every other federal court asked to hear a case like this has ruled against such local laws. Welcome to the 8th Circuit. The ramifications of renting to an illegal immigrant? None - there is no federal law prohibiting such a thing, and there are no federal penalties to landlords who rent to illegal immigrants. So this Fremont law is not complying with some greater statute - it's just the people in this town being pissy about "the illegals." Again, that's a local description. So Fremont, led by State Sen. Charlie Janssen, crafted this law to prevent illegals from renting or working in Fremont, and he's been talking about recalling City Council members who vote to put the law on hold. Because this is a rampant problem in Fremont, NE. Because Fremont has so many Hispanics living there, causing housing problems. Except that they don't.This is a town who self-identifes as 85% White. And to many, that percentage is too low. In the 2010 census 11.9% of Fremonters identified as Hispanic. That's 3,200 people, the vast majority of whom are American by birth. Even if you tossed in all Black/African identifiers, and even if you presumed that all of them were not Americans but emigrants, that bumps your total up to 5,000 people. The reality? There are probably 1,000-2,000 Hispanic and/or African immigrants in Fremont. That's who this law is aimed at. A tiny fraction of the local population. And they're going to fix this "problem" they're having of illegal immigration with this law, which prohibits renting to or employing illegal immigrants. But there's a catch. Fremont's one large employer, Hormel Foods, sits outside the city limits. It employs more than half the Hispanic people working in Fremont, but falls outside the jurisdiction of this law. Further, "a fair number" (sorry, don't have exact stats here) of those workers live in Omaha, about a 20-minute drive down Hwy 275 from Fremont. So not only does this law miss the mark of employment, it also largely misses the mark of housing as well. The "problem" they're trying to fix doesn't exist. And they're spending an awful lot of time and money doing it. I could rant on and on. I grew up in this town. I attended High School with a bunch of Vietnamese kids, immigrants and asylum-seekers from the war, and I saw every day how they were treated, I heard what they were called, I saw the general demeanor of the students and faculty toward these guys. Fremont is a White town full of xenophobes who want to keep it White, and they're going to enact this law based on this decision. I hope they enjoy spending millions on legal fees over the years, to the detriment of their parks and libraries and schools. Serves them right.