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The ACLU of Nebraska this week asked a judge to dismiss its Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking to compel a federal agency to release records related to two Nebraskacities’ efforts to ban immigrants not legally in the country from renting in their communities.
That's because the civil liberties group received the documents they had sought from federal authorities for more than two years.
But, in a press release Friday, ACLU officials said they had concerns about what they learned.
"Newly available records show that Fremont officials made use of a federal online program to investigate community members' citizenship or immigration status, but only for professional licensing applications — not for enforcing the city’s controversial immigrant housing ban," the ACLU said in a press release.
The lawsuit relates to the ordinance Fremont passed in 2010 requiring prospective renters to obtain occupancy licenses.
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To get one, renters have to complete an application and answer questions about their immigration status. The Fremont Police Department then checks the information with USCIS' Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to determine if they are lawfully in the country.
Scribner followed suit with its own ordinance in 2018.
The ACLU's request for information followed.
On Nov. 9, 2021, the group submitted an email request to the U.S.Citizenship and Immigration Services, an agency under the Department of Homeland Security, seeking copies of correspondence between officials, agents, contractors or individuals regarding the implementation or enforcement of city ordinances inFremont and Scribner.
By July 2024, USCIS still hadn't produced the documents, which led to the lawsuit, asking a judge to make the agency produce the records.
ACLU attorney Dylan Serverino wrote in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court of Nebraska in Lincoln that the organization was seeking the records in order to "further public understanding of the implementation and enforcement of the ordinances."
On Friday, Severino said the ACLU was pleased finally to have more concrete information and expects to gain a clearer picture with its ICE request.
"With that said, it should not have taken a lawsuit to get these basic details," he said.
Federal law outlines clear obligations for responding to public records requests, which Severino said they violated.
"Those are not suggestions. As we work to better understand the scope of any federal involvement with these anti-immigrant housing bans, we hope officials take notice of the outcome of this case and make sure they are being responsive to future requests. Otherwise, we will see them in court,” Severino said.
On Friday, he said in response to the lawsuit, officials turned over a spreadsheet and 13-page document, showing Fremont had used a federal program between 2015 and 2017 to seek information on 21 workers who had applied for a professional license — the only Nebraska municipality to use that system, according to its online records.
The FOIA request involved any records from 2014 to present day. Officials provided no records from outside of 2015 to 2017 and no records about Fremont's or Scribner's housing ordinances.
This isn't the first time the ACLU has taken to the courts in connection to the housing bans.
In 2010, the ACLU sued Fremont seeking to overturn the rental ban saying it conflicts with the federal government’s sole authority to regulate immigration and has a discriminatory effect.
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the challenge in a split decision.
But earlier this year, current Fremont Mayor Joey Spellerberg said that while the ordinance remains on Fremont’s books, it is "impossible to enforce."
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Reach the writer at 402-473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com.
On Twitter @LJSpilger
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Lori Pilger
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