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A civil liberties group has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking to compel a federal agency to release records related to two Nebraska cities’ efforts to ban immigrants not legally in the country from renting in their communities.
The ACLU of Nebraska sought the records more than two and a half years ago.
The group specifically submitted an email request to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, an agency under the Department of Homeland Security, on Nov. 9, 2021, seeking copies of correspondence between officials, agents, contractors or individuals regarding the implementation or enforcement of city ordinances in Fremont and Scribner.
“To date, USCIS has failed to respond to produce the documents sought in the request in any way, let alone process the request ‘promptly,’ as required by FOIA for all requests,” ACLU attorney Dylan Serverino wrote in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court of Nebraska in Lincoln.
The 21-day statutory period to respond has long since passed.
Serverino said the ACLU is seeking the records in order to “further public understanding of the implementation and enforcement of the ordinances.”
In June 2010, Fremont passed an ordinance requiring prospective renters there to obtain occupancy licenses.
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.
In November 2018, Scribner passed an ordinance that did substantially the same thing.
The ACLU’s request for information followed.
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The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, asks a federal judge to order the federal agencies to conduct a search for the records and produce them promptly.
The ACLU also is seeking attorney fees and other litigation costs.
The ACLU says USCIS and the Department of Homeland Security have the records and the ACLU has a legal right to obtain them. Failure to provide them violates the Freedom of Information Act, Serverino said.
Severino said the years-long wait made it clear that it would take a lawsuit to force a response from federal officials.
“Nebraskans have a right to know if and how federal officials have been involved in any efforts to enforce anti-immigrant ordinances that invite discriminatory questions and racial profiling,” he said Tuesday. “Federal law includes clear guidelines on processing public records requests, and there is no excuse for years of inaction on any request — let alone one that involves something as important as fair access to housing.”
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 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the challenge in a split decision.
Earlier this year, Fremont Mayor Joey Spellerberg gave the welcome address at the Nebraska Immigration & Workforce Summit there, saying things have changed in the town of 27,000 about an hour north of Lincoln.
He told the Nebraska Examiner that to fill its jobs today, the city needs to “embrace the immigrant community.”
While the ordinance remains on Fremont’s books, Spellerberg said it is “impossible to enforce.”
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A civil liberties group has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking to compel a federal agency to release records related to two Nebraska cities’ efforts to ban immigrants not legally in the country from renting in their communities.
The ACLU of Nebraska sought the records more than two and a half years ago.
The group specifically submitted an email request to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, an agency under the Department of Homeland Security, on Nov. 9, 2021, seeking copies of correspondence between officials, agents, contractors or individuals regarding the implementation or enforcement of city ordinances in Fremont and Scribner.
“To date, USCIS has failed to respond to produce the documents sought in the request in any way, let alone process the request ‘promptly,’ as required by FOIA for all requests,” ACLU attorney Dylan Serverino wrote in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court of Nebraska in Lincoln.
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The 21-day statutory period to respond has long since passed.
Serverino said the ACLU is seeking the records in order to “further public understanding of the implementation and enforcement of the ordinances.”
In June 2010, Fremont passed an ordinance requiring prospective renters there to obtain occupancy licenses.
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.
In November 2018, Scribner passed an ordinance that did substantially the same thing.
The ACLU’s request for information followed.
Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack | All Of Our Podcasts
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, asks a federal judge to order the federal agencies to conduct a search for the records and produce them promptly.
The ACLU also is seeking attorney fees and other litigation costs.
The ACLU says USCIS and the Department of Homeland Security have the records and the ACLU has a legal right to obtain them. Failure to provide them violates the Freedom of Information Act, Serverino said.
Severino said the years-long wait made it clear that it would take a lawsuit to force a response from federal officials.
“Nebraskans have a right to know if and how federal officials have been involved in any efforts to enforce anti-immigrant ordinances that invite discriminatory questions and racial profiling,” he said Tuesday. “Federal law includes clear guidelines on processing public records requests, and there is no excuse for years of inaction on any request — let alone one that involves something as important as fair access to housing.”
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 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the challenge in a split decision.
Earlier this year, Fremont Mayor Joey Spellerberg gave the welcome address at the Nebraska Immigration & Workforce Summit there, saying things have changed in the town of 27,000 about an hour north of Lincoln.
He told the Nebraska Examiner that to fill its jobs today, the city needs to “embrace the immigrant community.”
While the ordinance remains on Fremont’s books, Spellerberg said it is “impossible to enforce.”
Nebraska ACLU sues agency to get records tied to cities' bans on renting to immigrants
A civil liberties group has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking to compel a federal agency to release records related to two Nebraska cities’ efforts to ban immigrants
