Committee kills 2 immigration bills

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BY JoANNE YOUNG / Lincoln Journal Star

The Legislature’s Judiciary Committee spoke out Thursday on the issue of illegal immigration, killing two bills and leaving a third parked in committee.

A bill (LB963) introduced at the request of Gov. Dave Heineman that would prohibit giving state, local or federal benefits to undocumented immigrants or in-state tuition to undocumented college students was killed on a 5-1 vote, with two members not voting.

Several senators said proponents of the bill, introduced by Omaha Sen. Mike Friend, failed to make their case that the law was needed, since a federal requirement already exists. If state agencies are not verifying resident status of benefit applicants, they said, they are not complying with federal law.

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Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha said the bill was a “smoke screen” to get rid of a two-year-old law that allows in-state college tuition for illegal immigrants.

Lincoln Sen. DiAnna Schimek, said the college tuition bill was debated from every possible angle in 2005. It took long and hard work to pass the bill and override the governor’s veto, she said, and to have someone come back two years later to try to do away with it is offensive.

Chambers said he was particularly offended by the racism displayed at the hearing, heard in some testimony and in a couple of outbursts from the hearing room audience.

He was critical of the governor and Attorney General Jon Bruning, both of whom testified at the hearing, for “riding the crest of that wave of racism” and not speaking against it.

Chambers sharply scolded some committee members, who initially suggested the bill be left in committee, rather than killed. Since it was not directed at white people’s rights, he said, they were willing to sit on it.

“You all are not offended. Why should you be?” he said. “It wasn’t directed at you all. … We don’t count and we know it.”

The committee also voted to kill a resolution (LR224) introduced by Lincoln Sen. Tony Fulton. The resolution would have allowed law enforcement agencies to enter an agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to enforce immigration laws.

Attempts to kill or advance LB1170, introduced by Omaha Sen. Tom White, failed on deadlocked votes. The bill would allow the attorney general, a political subdivision or a citizen to sue an employer who knowingly hires or recruits undocumented workers for the cost of providing public services to those workers.

Immigration is a federal issue, Chambers said, and there’s no way a state can deal with it comprehensively. The bill gives the impression it would address employer abuses, he said.

“Bad laws are bad laws, and this cannot be enforced in my opinion,” he said.

Sen. Dwite Pedersen of Elkhorn said the bill at least makes a statement that the Legislature does not agree with unscrupulous employers.

But Sen. Vickie McDonald said the bill could fill the courts with all kinds of lawsuits, because citizens believe workers are illegal whether they are or not.

Lincoln Sen. Amanda McGill, who voted yes on the failed motion to advance LB1170, said the way to handle the illegal immigration issue in Nebraska is to deal with employers who hire undocumented workers. The other bills, which she voted to kill, didn’t get to the heart of the problem, she said.

Omaha Sen. Pete Pirsch, who opposed killing any of the bills, said after the meeting he supported many of their concepts. Killing them so quickly after Wednesday’s hearing was not warranted, he said.

Heineman and Bruning will hold a news conference Friday morning to discuss what happened with Friend’s bill.

Reach JoAnne Young at 473-7228 or jyoung@journalstar.com.