The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund added a plaintiff Monday to its lawsuit against the City of Fremont’s illegal immigrant ordinance.

Documents filed with the U.S. District Court in Omaha by MALDEF attorney Victor Viramontes of Los Angeles listed Yamileth Leiva, the owner of a Fremont business that sells various items including dresses and purses, as a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

“Plaintiff Leiva is concerned that e-Verify would impose added costs and obligations on her business, including registering for the program and implementing the program,” Viramontes wrote. “As a small business owner, these obligations are particularly burdensome.

“Plaintiff Leiva is concerned that the City of Fremont would deny her business license if she does not register with e-Verify. She is also concerned that the City of Fremont would sue her if she does not register her business with e-Verify,” he wrote.

Original plaintiffs to the suit were Fred H. Keller Jr. of Arlington, who owns rental property in Fremont; Juan Armenta, a Latino and legal permanent resident of the United States who lives in a rental apartment in Fremont; Juan Doe, a Latino in immigration proceedings who rents an apartment in Fremont; Juana Doe and Juana Doe #2, undocumented Latinas who rent apartments in Fremont.

The amended complaint also adds City Attorney Dale Shotkoski and Chief of Police Timothy Mullen as defendants in their official capacities.

Mullen and former City Attorney Dean Skokan were listed as defendants on a similar lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union against the ordinance, but had not previously been included in MALDEF’s suit.

Both suits were originally filed on July 21, 2010, against the ordinance, which requires renters to obtain occupancy licenses, and businesses with one or more employee to use the federal e-Verify system.

U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp consolidated the two lawsuits on Sept. 2, 2010.

The lawsuits claim the ordinance violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution; the equal protection clause and due process clause of the 14th Amendment; and the Fair Housing Act. They also claim the city, in passing the ordinance, exceeded its authority granted by the Nebraska Constitution.

Fremont voters approved the ordinance on June 21, 2010. It was scheduled to take effect July 29, 2010, but the city council decided two days earlier to suspend implementation and enforcement until the lawsuits are resolved.