Bill would target benefits for illegal immigrants

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By NANCY HICKS / Lincoln Journal Star

Illegal immigrants may find it more difficult to get some government benefits under a bill being developed by Gov. Dave Heineman and Attorney General Jon Bruning.

Everyone applying for specific government benefits — from hunting licenses and teacher’s licenses to unemployment checks and food stamps — would have to prove they are U.S. citizens or legal immigrants, under the proposal.

The bill also would repeal a new law that assures young adults who graduate from Nebraska high schools and who are illegal immigrants that they will get in-state tuition at state colleges and the university.

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That law passed two years ago over Heineman’s veto.

 Opposition against the proposal quickly surfaced Friday.

“I am stunned. I am offended. I think it will cause a huge uproar in the Legislature if it should come to the floor,” said Lincoln Sen. DiAnna Schimek, who sponsored the in-state tuition bill.

And it appears much of state government already is doing what the bill will require — verifying the legal status of people applying for what are considered welfare benefits, including Medicaid, Aid to Dependent Children and food stamps.

Health and Human Services does require that applicants provide documents, like birth certificates or driver’s licenses, to prove they are citizens.

Noncitizens are run through the federal verification system, said Kathie Osterman, spokeswoman for the agency.

The Lincoln Public Housing Authority requires people applying for subsidized housing to provide documents showing citizenship and runs immigrant applicants through the federal verification system, said Larry Potratz, executive director of the local authority.

However, people applying for hunting and fishing licenses do not currently have to prove citizenship or legal status.

Omaha Sen. Mike Friend said he agreed to sponsor the bill because it is narrowly drafted and applies only to state-regulated benefits. It doesn’t deal with deportation issues.

“This is not draconian legislation,” he said. “It is a reasonable approach.

“We are not gathering people up and incarcerating them,” Friend said. “It represents leadership on a public policy issue that I think citizens have asked for leadership on.”

The measure would not target emergency medical assistance or short-term emergency disaster relief, federally mandated to be provided.

It also would not apply to children of illegal immigrants, born in the U.S. Those children are U.S. citizens, Heineman noted.

The three men said state government cannot do anything about two major immigration issues: employers who hire illegal immigrants and the cost to taxpayers for educating children of illegal immigrants.

Private companies do not have access to the federal database that the state will use to determine an immigrant’s legal status, Bruning said.

“You need a federal verification system that employers can access. That’s why that issue needs a federal response,” Heineman said.

The federal government also requires that all children, even those in the country illegally, must be offered a free public education, Heineman said.

The measure will apply to more than welfare benefits and will include government-regulated licenses, professional licenses and Department of Economic Development grants, said Jen Rae Hein, spokeswoman for the governor.  The definition is based on federal law, she said.

The bill “makes a powerful statement that illegal immigrants are not going to receive state benefits. We have tried to be very careful here and focus on what we can control and what we administer,” Bruning said.

But the bill is not merely “symbolic legislation that tries to capitalize on a hot political issue,” said Friend, in response to a specific question.

“I don’t do symbolic legislation. I don’t have time for it. I have a wife and kids at home. I have other things to do than thump my chest. I’m not running for any other office. Symbolic legislation is a waste of my time, so I don’t do it,” he said.

The measure provides clarification and puts some organization around the benefit issue, he said.  

The three men also pointed out that people across the state complain illegal immigrants are getting welfare benefits.

“They (the public) don’t think illegal immigrants should be receiving benefits. If we listened to Nebraskans, the Legislature would pass this bill very, very quickly,” Heineman said.

He said he did not know whether that perception is true since there is no data about illegal immigrants getting benefits in Nebraska.

Schimek criticized the offering of a proposal based on public perception that may not be true.  

“It is the responsibility of leaders to inform the public about the reality of a situation,” said Schimek.

“What are all these free give- aways that we are allegedly giving out?”

Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com.