NEOC approves agreement with Attorney General’s office
The Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission and state Attorney General Jon Bruning are waiting to hear if a newly signed agreement will satisfy the federal agency that stepped into the middle of their disagreement.
On Monday, NEOC commissioners voted 4-1 to approve the agreement with Bruning’s office on how to handle housing discrimination cases, including those involving undocumented immigrants.
The two have been working on the agreement for a couple of months, since Bruning’s office refused to handle a case involving an undocumented resident.
Case investigations had shifted to HUD until an agreement could be reached and the NEOC has been missing out on the income from those investigations.
For the latest attempt at an agreement, HUD had suggested it say that in cases in which the complainants are undocumented immigrants, the NEOC would refer those cases to an attorney under contract with the NEOC.
But at least one commissioner and a number of people from the public, other agencies and the NEOC staff had problems with that part of the agreement.
Commissioner Kristin Yates said it appeared to single out a group of people and say the commission was not going to provide the same protection under the law provided to everyone else.
When those types of distinctions have been made historically, she said, it hasn’t worked out well.
“I don’t think you can treat two groups of people differently who are entitled to the same protection under the law,” she said.
Becky Gould, executive director of Nebraska Appleseed, said her organization was deeply troubled by an agreement that seemed to crystallize two separate systems of handling discrimination cases.
It would have a chilling effect, she said, on undocumented persons bringing claims before the NEOC.
“I think there are questions about whether it is even legal for this type of structure to be put into place,” she said, referring to the original wording. “I think you’re setting a really dangerous precedent for the state of Nebraska.”
Angel Freytez, who attended the meeting as an interested observer, asked what procedure would be used to determine the legal status of the person filing a claim.
“We would not overtly attempt to determine a legal status of a person,” Nesbitt said. “We don’t deal with immigration, OK? So we’re not concerned about the person’s status. We’re concerned about helping that person preserve his rights in moving the case forward.”
The NEOC would deal with that question only if it came up during the process, he said.
Freytez said the proposed wording would open the door for landlords and real estate agents to discriminate against Hispanics.
That initial version of the agreement failed, with all but Chairman Nesbitt casting a no vote.
But the commissioners went on to approve an agreement that eliminated the term “undocumented immigrants.” The final agreement said the Attorney General could refer cases to volunteer lawyers if his office had insufficient resources to pursue a case.
Bruning said Monday afternoon it has always been a priority of his office to prosecute discrimination cases. The agreement ensures, in part, that both the commission and Attorney General’s office believe there is probable cause to pursue a case.
And he wants to make sure when he pursues a case, the person filing the claim is in this country legally.
Since NEOC investigators do not ask for a person’s legal status, he said, he was not sure yet how the office would verify if a person was an illegal immigrant, he said.
In the one case that Bruning turned down, the people filing the claim had volunteered their illegal status, he said.
The issue has been a significant drain on the time of both offices, Bruning said, and it’s time to move on.
Nesbitt said the document gives the NEOC some framework to begin to deal with the issues.
“I view it as a living document,” he said. “We can constantly tweak it.”
Reach JoAnne Young at 473-7228 or jyoung@journalstar.com.
On Monday, NEOC commissioners voted 4-1 to approve the agreement with Bruning’s office on how to handle housing discrimination cases, including those involving undocumented immigrants.
The two have been working on the agreement for a couple of months, since Bruning’s office refused to handle a case involving an undocumented resident.
Case investigations had shifted to HUD until an agreement could be reached and the NEOC has been missing out on the income from those investigations.
For the latest attempt at an agreement, HUD had suggested it say that in cases in which the complainants are undocumented immigrants, the NEOC would refer those cases to an attorney under contract with the NEOC.
But at least one commissioner and a number of people from the public, other agencies and the NEOC staff had problems with that part of the agreement.
Commissioner Kristin Yates said it appeared to single out a group of people and say the commission was not going to provide the same protection under the law provided to everyone else.
When those types of distinctions have been made historically, she said, it hasn’t worked out well.
“I don’t think you can treat two groups of people differently who are entitled to the same protection under the law,” she said.
Becky Gould, executive director of Nebraska Appleseed, said her organization was deeply troubled by an agreement that seemed to crystallize two separate systems of handling discrimination cases.
It would have a chilling effect, she said, on undocumented persons bringing claims before the NEOC.
“I think there are questions about whether it is even legal for this type of structure to be put into place,” she said, referring to the original wording. “I think you’re setting a really dangerous precedent for the state of Nebraska.”
Angel Freytez, who attended the meeting as an interested observer, asked what procedure would be used to determine the legal status of the person filing a claim.
“We would not overtly attempt to determine a legal status of a person,” Nesbitt said. “We don’t deal with immigration, OK? So we’re not concerned about the person’s status. We’re concerned about helping that person preserve his rights in moving the case forward.”
The NEOC would deal with that question only if it came up during the process, he said.
Freytez said the proposed wording would open the door for landlords and real estate agents to discriminate against Hispanics.
That initial version of the agreement failed, with all but Chairman Nesbitt casting a no vote.
But the commissioners went on to approve an agreement that eliminated the term “undocumented immigrants.” The final agreement said the Attorney General could refer cases to volunteer lawyers if his office had insufficient resources to pursue a case.
Bruning said Monday afternoon it has always been a priority of his office to prosecute discrimination cases. The agreement ensures, in part, that both the commission and Attorney General’s office believe there is probable cause to pursue a case.
And he wants to make sure when he pursues a case, the person filing the claim is in this country legally.
Since NEOC investigators do not ask for a person’s legal status, he said, he was not sure yet how the office would verify if a person was an illegal immigrant, he said.
In the one case that Bruning turned down, the people filing the claim had volunteered their illegal status, he said.
The issue has been a significant drain on the time of both offices, Bruning said, and it’s time to move on.
Nesbitt said the document gives the NEOC some framework to begin to deal with the issues.
“I view it as a living document,” he said. “We can constantly tweak it.”
Reach JoAnne Young at 473-7228 or jyoung@journalstar.com.
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