The Lincoln City Council will consider a resolution supporting so-called "Dreamers," the young immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally as children.Ìý
The resolution, brought by council members Jane Raybould and Bennie Shobe, both of whom are Democrats, asks Congress to protect the youths from deportation.
Shobe said he had asked for the resolution to be drafted in response to a request from the Mayor’s Multicultural Advisory Committee.
"I was asked by Marty Ramirez, the chair of the Mayor’s Multicultural Advisory Commission, to put that on the agenda for discussion," Shobe said.
Shobe said he personally supports the resolution but understands the City Council traditionally has not weighed in on federal issues.
"This kind of bucks that tradition," he said.
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Raybould is running to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer this year. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, the program that allows "Dreamers" to remain in the country, is part of her campaign platform. The resolution gives her a public venue for talking about the issue.Ìý
"It's real important that we send a message to our representatives and President Trump that we would like to see some action on the amazing DACA recipients in our state," Raybould said.
The City Council has no authority over immigration issues, but the resolution asks Congress to pass legislation "protecting Dreamers from deportation." If that doesn't happen, it encourages Trump to reimplement the DACA program to allow the immigrants to receive renewable two-year periods of deferred action from deportation along with eligibility for a work permit.
The resolution appears on Monday’s council agenda for the first time, and would automatically be scheduled for public hearing at the June 4 meeting.
But Council Chairman Roy Christensen said he will ask the council to delay that public hearing until June 11 because he will not be able to attend the June 4 meeting.
"I’m discouraged council members would want to take on a divisive issue over which the city of Lincoln has no authority to act," Christensen said.
The council resolution is not a federal issue, but a resolution in support of these students, said Ramirez, a retired University of Nebraska-Lincoln psychologist.
"It comes from a humanistic, moralistic view. … These are Nebraskans. They all go to school, they try to study hard, they try not to break the law," he said.
Lincoln and Nebraska prides itself in welcoming immigrants, he said, and the history of Nebraska is a story of immigrants.
Ramirez said both Omaha and Crete have passed resolutions to support protecting these young people from deportation.Ìý
The current resolution might not have enough support to pass the council, but Shobe said he's hopeful, with some amendments, that more council members will be comfortable supporting it.
The resolution says "many Dreamers arrived in this country as infants or young children and bear no responsibility for the actions that brought them to this country and should not face the possibility of deportation."