Fremont, Nebraska Goes after Employers...of Illegal Immigrants

Fremont, Nebraska, a meat-packing town of about 25,000 people, voted Monday in favor by 57% to banish illegal immigrants from jobs by using a federal database, and rental homes by requiring renters to provide citizenship information to the police and to obtain city occupancy licenses, overturning an earlier decision by city leaders. The A.C.L.U Nebraska will file a lawsuit on grounds that it will cause discrimination and racial profiling. The good news here is that communities are beginning to take on illegal employers, who are the real cause of the so-called illegal alien crisis. The bad news is that local police are involved, meaning that people in the region who are there without documentation will be reluctant to call the police when they're the victims of crimes, turning them into easy targets for criminals ranging from burglars to rapists.
Comments


As a former resident of Fremont, NE for 18 years (now living in CA) I see the change every time I visit my family. Growing up in Fremont, many of my friends' parents raised a family on one income from the meat packing plants. Now those jobs are being offered to illegals who are being paid under the table. Everyone must pay taxes to ensure a good education and safe community for our children. Illegal immigrants are not paying their share which is creating a strain on both small communities and large cities.
In speaking with my family and other members of the community, I've heard both compassion and frustration. Many are compassionate for those who are fleeing a violent country with no opportunity to provide for their families. On the other hand, they are also frustrated that their small community has to bear the burden.
I believe we are mistakenly pointing the finger at both the illegal immigrants and the citizens of these small communities. We need to start holding the negligent government, lawmakers, and companies that employ these illegal immigrants liable. This has gone on for far too long and now we have a much bigger crisis on our hands. We need to be active. This small town is showing initiative and taking back their community!

I partly agree with Carrie. I think for very small mom and pop businesses with 1 to 2 employees, we should allow them to pay sub-minimum wages. Small start-ups like this have a 95% failure rate. We need to do everything we can to help them stay in business until they are on solid footing. There are plenty of young people who would not mind making less than minimum wage, part-time or full time, they just want to work. And it can make the difference between the small mom and pop surviving and dying.
Finally, going after the real culprits of the immigration glitch...the real felons...the corporations. We concentrate so much on the Mexico we forget about Canada? California's GSP is $1.8 trillion, and "illegals" make up 25% of the $1.8 trillion. Are they truly a hinderance or are they supporting us? And I long for the day when U.S. citizens must work on the farms in Mexico to make a decent living...illegally
Congrats Shan!

RE the bizarre concept of Gonzoporn with Donna Rice Huges and ACLU interviews:
Just some random thoughts about this topic as it is a topic that I find troubling.
o Why have a category that is called "gonzoporn"? Seems to me that the only reason is to distinguish one from another these two categories: To distinguish 1) images/ideas/imaginings/acts that possibly result in normal healthy sexual response (that is more than arousal alone -- including positive emotional responses and caring) from 2) images/ideas/imaginings/acts/CRIMES that result in arousning in persons with perverted sexual ideation the desire to combine sexual actions with humiliation, hate, abuse, harm, hurt, pain, injury, death or whatever the perverted pornographer desires to market.
o All sexual arousal is NOT equal. And in my opinion, all "methods" of sexual arousal should not be approached as if they were identical.
o This term 'pornography' is only necessary because twisted Puritan notions have demonized normal sexuality in the USA. And now this twisted notion is frozen in our laws. Clearly this is an injustice to normal humans, humans who express normal sexual behavior, humans who consider that sexual expression is an expression of Caring/Love/HealthyReproduction (as opposed to being an expression of perversion via Domination/Power/Hate/Exploitation/IntentToHarmOrKill).
o There is NO reason normal sexuality and socially positive sexual expression should be categorized as pornography.
o But because normal sexual behavior is categorized as pornography, and in the resulting illogic and injustice, criminal sexual perversion is given a free ride in the confusion of being categorized with normal sexual behavior. These criminal (or SHOULD be criminal) sexual perversions include animal abuse, hate crimes against women or other groups, exploitation of women and children, use of victims of human trafficking, murder of animals and humans; and all these negative, ANTISOCIAL expressions sneak under the radar to be classified with normal sexual behavior and debated in terms freedom of speech. It is crazy-making. And I question the sanity of those who have created this system of categorization.
o Instead of debating this insane category, we should be working to separate normal and beneficial sexual behavior from this category of pornography that should be reserved for only the material manufactured through criminally-motivated sexual perversion which has the result or intent to harm, exploit, promote/spread hate, exploitation and harm.
o I see the USA's inability to separate normal human behavior from antisocial human behavior as a result of a twisted, hypocritical culture that is militarist and imperialist and colonialist with a national program of purposely confusing exploitation and murder and profiteering (via trumped up wars, covert operations, assassinations and over-throwing sovereign nations) as if these actions were doing good, helping other peoples, or spreading something needed (i.e., democracy, modern civilization). So questions arise: Can children grow up in a nation this deceitful and still be able to develop the discernment to distinguish true kindness from antisocial behavior? Does the lack of a truthful national DECENCY affect its citizens' ability to navigate moral choices in general? Does the confusion about DECENCY flow over into all other areas, including personal sexuality?
o I see Liberals as incapable of dealing with this issue. They seek to apply their notion of liberality to EVERYTHING, even antisocial behavior. I choose to be a Progressive, and seek a human society that grows better over time; I don't see how it can get better if the spread of antisocial behavior is not stemmed. I view Liberals debating that antisocial behavior deserves free speech protection as so illogical as to result in the reactionary breakdown of community/civilization. And this liberality can be expressed even by a rightist Roberts Court, as the recent ruling on animal snuff films proved.

Gulf beach access freedom?
Ellen Radner indicated she was down on the Gulfcoast and she seemed gungho that the emergency response was sufficient to take care of the coastlines. She indicated all looked well taken care of.
However, nothing in her report indicated she was allowed to seek out any beach she wanted to check out. (Last I heard, Barataria Bay was neglected and the Pelican rookeries lost.) It sounded like she went on a press junket to certain sites that were uniquely cared for and prepared for a press/photography session. If my suspicion is wrong, I'd like to hear about it.

Welcome to Nazi Germany, redux.
The same kinds of "restrictions" were placed on Jews in the years leading up to WWII. They too, were also considered "aliens." Gee, I guess when you can dehumanize and categorize human beings as "illegals" and "aliens" it won't be too long before we start putting them in detention camps ...oh, that's right we ARE putting them in detention camps now. Well, then I guess the next step is euthanizing them ...out of the kindness of the "Christian nation" we so love to espouse.
Perhaps, we should start arresting ourselves for being "illegals" and "aliens" since ...if we really want to hold to the letter of the law, Everyone who is here now in this country and NOT a Native American (or descendent of African slaves) is by Treaty rights (a treaty is a legally binding document, by the way) ...which makes a good deal of us illegally trespassing in someone else's country. In fact we are all trespassing technically. Afterall, we are big supporters of the Zionist State whose inhabitants returned (according to their version) to reclaim their "homeland" after a millenium, aren't we? (Oh, you say you were born here? Just like the kids of those people you deem "illegal" might be born here, right?)
So, why not join Fremont and expand on it's principles (...well, at least let's make it a little less racist), in declaring that if you aren't legally here, you can't live in this country anymore. And according to the many many Treaties that were made with our Indigenous brothers and sisters ...ALL of which we, the colonizers, UNILATERALLY and ILLEGALLY BROKE, WE ARE ALL "ILLEGAL ALIENS" and should immediately deport ourselves.
I am all packed up and ready to be deported; how 'bout you?
Oh ..what's that? Yes, it is inconvenient to apply the "law" we love so much to ourselves, but then justice is a real beaaaach when it comes to atoning for our own transgressions and holding ourselves up to the same indiotic Draconian standards and Social Darwinian marginalizations that we just LOVE imposing on "other" people who don't look or act like us.
And to think, we once called the Indigenous Peoples of this continent "savages."
That would be funny in an ironic sort of way if we had evoled from the errors of the past as a culture ...but sadly, we are the same pathetic bunch of barbarians our ancestors were ...and the people who voted for this "law" in Fremont are a fine example of it.
Of course, what would one expect from people who have worked in slaughter houses and 'meat-packing plants' for generations?! Perhaps, the town should consider going Vegetarian or better yet Veganism ...then maybe they would have a better capacity to think more clearly and discover new resources for creating a new industry for their town ...perhaps even a Green one. And they might not then pass on their racism and prejudice to the next generation. Just a thought.
Viva Che!
-OSR

Comments posted by an ELCA minister in SE Nebraskas
Though there were those in the faith community who stepped out boldly on the vote in Fremont, the outcome is yet another example of how poorly the church is doing in it's call to teach about God's call to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God. It's kind of like when the church in Germany buried it's head.
I got my voting information from www.theindependent.com and from there went to the Dodge County Election site. The unofficial results are:
Unofficial Results DODGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA
RUN DATE:06/21/10 SPECIAL ELECTION
RUN TIME:09:20 PM JUNE 21, 2010
VOTES PERCENT
PRECINCTS COUNTED (OF 21) . . . . . 21 100.00
REGISTERED VOTERS - TOTAL . . . . . 15,208
BALLOTS CAST - TOTAL. . . . . . . 6,824
VOTER TURNOUT - TOTAL . . . . . . 44.87
PROPOSED ORDINANCE NO. 5165
VOTE FOR 1
Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,906 57.24
No. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,908 42.61
Over Votes . . . . . . . . . 3 .04
Under Votes . . . . . . . . . 7 .10
Total . . . . . . . . . 6,824
Such a few people did so much damage.
Mena from St. Paul, NE