By Katie Knapp Schubert
Omaha, NE – Fremont's new law banning hiring or renting to illegal immigrants remains on hold as two lawsuits are heard in court.
The Fremont City Council voted Tuesday to suspend implementation of the law while lawsuits are pending. This weekend, a concert in Omaha's Benson neighborhood seeks to raise money to fight Fremont's law.
Omaha native Conor Oberst hopes the Concert for Equality raises awareness of what he calls an unconstitutional and racist law. "It's going to create divisions in the community, it's going to breed distrust between law enforcement and the community they serve, it's going to increase discrimination and racial tension and it's going to create conditions in Fremont where Latino people are seen as suspects first and people second. And we have to stand up and say that's not acceptable here," Oberst says.
Oberst organized the Concert for Equality, which will feature 14 musical acts. Proceeds from ticket sales go to the Nebraska ACLU, one of the two organizations that's sued over the Fremont law.
A federal judge didn't immediately rule Wednesday on requests to block the law from taking effect.