Thread: NE: Immigration Debate Affects International Students

Immigration Debate Affects International Students
Posted: Sep 07, 2010 5:55 PM PDT
Updated: Sep 07, 2010 5:55 PM PDT
Meghan Youker

OMAHA (KPTM) - Nebraska is quickly becoming a hot spot in the national debate over illegal immigration.

State Senator Charlie Janssen tells KPTM FOX 42 News he's met with the Attorney General's Office to begin drafting an immigration bill that will stand up to legal challenges. He says it will incorporate some aspects of the controversial Arizona law, which requires police to check someone's immigration status while enforcing other laws.

This, as Fremont's ban on hiring or renting to illegal immigrants, remains tied up in the courts.

All the discussion has left some international students feeling uneasy.

It was a chance for international students at Bellevue University to learn about navigating our country's complicated immigration system. "It is very important for a foreign student to have enough information about what the immigration law is in this country and not to fall in some situation that may not be enviable," said senior accounting major Sosthene Lassoure Compaore.

In the back of students' minds, a political climate in Nebraska that may make just living here more difficult. "The public discourse that focuses on the undocumented brings an undue focus on all foreign born individuals and so in the public's eyes, everyone is undocumented which is not the case," said immigration attorney Amy Peck.

There are fears about a law that could force people to prove they are in the country legally. "If you have an accent, they just look at you and they can tell you are a foreigner, it might be a type of profiling without already knowing your real status," Compaore said.

For some, it might make a difference when it comes to grad school or where to look for a job after graduation. "It makes a very negative, dark climate for foreign born citizens when in fact we want to be welcoming in this state, we are welcoming economic growth, we want productive citizens, we want people here paying taxes which is what these individuals are doing," Peck said.

Governor Dave Heineman has indicated he would support an Arizona-type law in Nebraska saying, "We support legal immigration. Not amnesty for illegals, not illegal immigration." A bill is expected to be introduced next legislative session.

http://www.kptm.com/Global/story.asp?S=13114925

In the back of students' minds, a political climate in Nebraska that may make just living here more difficult. "The public discourse that focuses on the undocumented brings an undue focus on all foreign born individuals and so in the public's eyes, everyone is undocumented which is not the case," said immigration attorney Amy Peck.

Then maybe you should join in the fight against illegal immigration in Nebraska, Ms. Amy Peck. Stop using your law license to Aid and Abet illegal aliens. You are a cause of the problem.

In the back of students' minds, a political climate in Nebraska that may make just living here more difficult.

GOOD. Please let the illegal aliens know Nebraska is NOT a good place for them to live right now. Its in their best interest to leave.

And let the international students know they should join in the fight against illegal immigration, for their own sakes. And they should NOT overstay their student VISAs.