Nebraska Appleseed said Tuesday that undocumented immigrants living in the state should receive COVID-19 vaccinations just like other residents, both for their protection and for the protection of others.
"For months, Nebraskans doing essential work have kept our tables full and our communities afloat," Appleseed said in a statement.
"Now that a vaccine has arrived, we must work day and night to ensure every community member has equitable access to the vaccine as quickly as possible."
Appleseed stated any effort to limit access to the vaccine based on immigration status would be "inhumane" and it would undermine the goal of widespread immunity against the virus.
The statement was issued after Gov. Pete Ricketts was asked at a news briefing Monday whether undocumented workers at meatpacking plants would get the vaccine and suggested in response that is not an issue since "illegal immigrants are not permitted to work" in those facilities.
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National groups that track such data, however, including the Migration Policy Institute, estimate that 14% of Nebraska's meatpacking workers are undocumented.
Ricketts' spokesman, Taylor Gage, later tweeted on the issue, saying "while the federal government is expected to eventually make enough vaccine available for everyone in the country, Nebraska is going to prioritize citizens and legal residents ahead of illegal immigrants."