Gov. Pete Ricketts is mounting strong opposition to a bill that would allow young undocumented immigrants who have been granted lawful presence in the United States to acquire professional and occupational licenses to work in Nebraska.
The governor's disapproval, which is being conveyed directly to state senators and expressed to other Nebraskans through a gubernatorial column this week, signals the certainty of a Ricketts veto if the bill (LB947) ultimately clears the Legislature.
The proposal, introduced by Sen. Heath Mello of Omaha, jumped its first floor hurdle on a 27-7 count last week. It would need 30 votes to overcome a gubernatorial veto.
The bill comes before the Legislature at a time when illegal immigration is a huge issue in the Republican presidential campaign and one of the key elements in frontrunner Donald Trump's message.
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If the bill is approved, Ricketts said, Nebraska would be "rewarding illegal immigration" and sending a message that "immigrants need not respect our laws."
As governor, he wrote, he has consistently opposed expanding public or taxpayer benefits to people who came to the United States illegally.
Last year, Ricketts vetoed a bill to allow so-called DACA youth, most of whom were brought to the United States by their parents illegally when they were young children, to get Nebraska driver's licenses.
The 2015 Legislature overrode that veto and enacted the law.
DACA youth have been granted lawful presence in the United States by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals executive action taken by President Barack Obama.
"Giving benefits to individuals who came here illegally is not a solution for the schools, communities and churches in our state that are on the front lines of dealing with the fallout of the federal government's failure to enforce immigration laws," Ricketts said.Â
Supporters of the work licensure bill have argued that it makes no sense to educate and train those young immigrants in Nebraska and then force them to leave and become skilled workers and professionals in other states.
That's "the most insane thing I've heard of," Sen. Les Seiler of Hastings said during last week's debate.Â
In 2006, the Legislature approved legislation allowing the children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates at state colleges and universities in Nebraska. That measure was enacted over the veto of Gov. Dave Heineman.