LINCOLN, Neb.—State lawmakers voted Wednesday to advance a compromise illegal-immigration bill to the next round of debate. Meanwhile, questions about in-state tuition for some illegal immigrants will get a public hearing.
The measure that was advanced would require public employers and contractors to check new employees’ legal status once hired. It would also require that state and local agencies verify the legal status of anyone trying to collect public benefits.
But it wasn’t supposed to bring up a repeal of the so-called “Nebraska Dream Act”—the in-state tuition law—which state lawmakers approved over Gov. Dave Heineman’s veto in 2006.
In fact, Sen. Russ Karpisek of Wilber had assured members of the Judiciary Committee that the Dream Act wouldn’t be affected, and even introduced an amendment Wednesday—which was also advanced—meant to make it certain.
“I wanted to make sure that I kept my word,” Karpisek said.
When Sen. Charlie Janssen of Fremont introduced an amendment Tuesday to add the in-state tuition element to the bill, several lawmakers accused him of hijacking the debate. Speaker Mike Flood of Norfolk said because it made a significant change to original bill, the amendment needed a public hearing.
So Janssen withdrew his amendment and Judiciary Committee chairman Brad Ashford scheduled a hearing for March 5. It’s an unusual move, because amendments rarely get their own hearing apart from a bill, and the committee won’t be able to kill the amendment. Janssen said that unless a majority of committee members object, he’ll reintroduce his amendment on the next round of bill debate. He said he believes he has the votes to get the proposal passed.
In a pre-session survey by The Associated Press, 26 senators answered “yes” when asked whether the state should eliminate the in-state tuition provision.
Only two senators answered “no.” The rest in the 49-member Legislature marked unsure, skipped the question or didn’t participate in the survey.
The Nebraska Dream Act is meant to help students whose parents brought them to the United States illegally, but who are pursuing or promise to pursue legal status. Eligible students must graduate from a Nebraska high school and must have been residents of the state for at least three years.
Children born in the United States are already citizens, regardless of their parents’ status, so the children would qualify for the lower, in-state tuition at state colleges and universities just like any other Nebraska resident.
Janssen was previously a member of the Fremont City Council, which was embroiled last year in a contentious debate over an ordinance that would have banned hiring and renting to illegal immigrants. Janssen voted for the ordinance, which failed, and said it was one of the core issues of his legislative campaign.
He said the Dream Act—and the Judiciary Committees refusal to advance a bill to repeal it last year—sparked the Fremont furor.
Nebraska politicians have seen firsthand the political risk that comes from supporting the Dream Act. In the 2006 Republican gubernatorial primary, many voters said they chose Gov. Dave Heineman over Tom Osborne, a sitting U.S. representative and wildly popular former Nebraska football coach, because Osborne supported the tuition bill.
But Janssen said it’s time for senators to tell people where they stand.
“People don’t want to go on record on it, and they should,” he said.
Heineman hedged when asked Wednesday whether he supports Janssen’s amendment.
“Let them work their will,” he said of the Legislature.
The public can also weigh in on another proposed change to the original bill.
Sen. Tom White of Omaha wants to make the bill apply to all employers of more than 25 people. He also wants to make employers liable if public funds are spent on behalf of illegal immigrants who were hired without their legal status being checked.
Flood said White’s amendment probably wouldn’t need a public hearing, but Ashford decided to include it in the March 5 hearing anyway.
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Associated Press Writer Nate Jenkins contributed to this report.
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