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Signs urge residents to report 'illegal aliens' to ICE

Posted at 6:14 PM, Jul 09, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-10 20:54:38-04

Some signs showing up on poles around Omaha, Nebraska have a lot of people talking. 

The signs urge people to report all undocumented immigrants to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a part of their civic duty. 

One of those signs was posted near 50th and Center, but neighbors are taking it upon themselves to take the signs down, saying the signs are racist and hateful.

"There's actually a lot of people here who have IDs and green cards and want to live their lives here," Dalila Rios said. "Having a sign like that, a post like that out in public for everyone to see, it's not OK."

The sign reads "A Notice To All Citizens In The United States of America It Is Your Civic Duty To Report Any And All Illegal Aliens To US Immigration and Customs Enforcement They Have Broken The Law."

Dalila Rios says the signs are discriminatory and invite people to make false assumptions.

"That's stereotyping. Let's say me for instance — I'm not illegal but others will say I must be illegal, let's report it," Rios said.

Immigration Attorney Tom Campbell said this is not freedom of speech because it's asking others to break the law.

"The only way you can find out if a person has proper documentation to be here is to impersonate a federal official, which is illegal," Thomas Campbell said. "You can't tell if a person is from what country, you can't tell their status just by looking at them."

It's unknown who is behind the signs, but some neighbors say the message incites divisiveness.

Even if a person doesn't have documentation, Campbell said, you can't assume they are breaking the law.

"Individuals who are here without papers, they could be married to a citizen; they could be in immigration court; they could be in a process to adjust their status," Campbell said.