Family Life

06.21.10 | FL News Team

Residents of Fremont, Nebraska will vote today in a special election on a city ordinance that would crackdown on illegal immigration. The issue has been debated for two years, and has feverishly divided the small farm community. The issue has been so hotly debated that local public officials have been asked not to speak on the subject. According to "The Wall Street Journal," two years ago a city council member sponsored an ordinance that would prohibit companies from hiring, renting to or harboring illegal immigrants. It would also have given the city's police force more power to ask a person about their immigration status. After a tie vote on the city council, Mayor Donald "Skip" Edwards cast a vote against the ordinance. Now, the city is facing a similar ordinance. Supporters of the measure contend the federal government's non-action on illegal immigration has forced cities and states to take on the issue. While debates on immigration have been centered around the Mexico-U.S. border, increasingly communities far from the border are having to face the issue.