Thread: Nebraska: Lawmakers to Consider Immigration Measure

Lawmakers to Consider Immigration Measure

Lincoln, Neb.
Posted: 11:14 AM Feb 6, 2008
Last Updated: 11:14 AM Feb 6, 2008
Reporter: Associated Press

A measure to curb illegal immigration by threatening to take away business tax breaks will be considered by lawmakers.

Under the bill (LB784) from Sen. Gwen Howard of Omaha, employers who violated federal law by knowingly hiring illegal immigrants wouldn't be able to benefit from a multimillion-dollar state tax break designed to lure jobs.


Companies would also have to pay back tax breaks they received after they violated the law.

A public hearing on the bill was scheduled before the Legislature's Revenue Committee.

Gov. Dave Heineman has a different proposal that would require state agencies to verify any resident applying for state benefits is in the United States legally.


http://www.kolnkgin.com/news/headlines/15354051.html

Neb. Lawmakers Consider Immigration Bill
Wednesday February 6, 5:47 pm ET
By Nate Jenkins, Associated Press Writer

Nebraska Lawmakers to Consider Immigration Measure

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Frustration over federal inaction on illegal immigration spilled into the Capitol on Wednesday, as angry Nebraskans called on lawmakers to address the issue.
"I'm thoroughly disgusted the way the federal government is running this illegal immigration problem," Jerome Warner told the Legislature's Revenue Committee. "I am getting sick and tired of all these dad-blasted people coming in here illegal."

A bill considered by the committee Wednesday takes aim at employers who hire illegal immigrants. Should the measure pass, employers who violated federal law by knowingly hiring illegal immigrants wouldn't be able to dip into the multimillion-dollar bucket of state tax breaks designed to lure jobs to the state. The prohibition would apply to all businesses that violated the federal law in the five years before applying for tax breaks.

Companies already receiving state tax breaks when they're found in violation of the federal law would also be required to pay back tax breaks.

"We have a problem with immigration and the solution must be shared by employers," said Sen. Gwen Howard of Omaha, who introduced the bill.

How many, if any, Nebraska businesses that receive tax breaks and have been charged with knowingly hiring illegal immigrants is unclear. Howard has said she didn't know of any, and business leaders have said the same.

But nationally, the number of people arrested on charges related to unlawfully employing illegal immigrants has increased, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In 2002, just 25 people were arrested on such charges; last fiscal year, 863 people were arrested.

Officials with the agency attribute the increase to more aggressive enforcement.

While not targeting a specific industry with her bill, Howard has said "meatpacking comes to mind" as one.

As of July, at least four meatpacking companies with operations in Nebraska had applied for tax breaks, according to records from the state. If they meet their goals of investing a total of more than $40 million to expand of their operations, and hiring additional workers, they could be in line for more than $5 million worth of state tax breaks.

No business officials showed up Wednesday to testify on the bill.

An official with the Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest said employee sanctions haven't been shown to decrease illegal immigration, and that they can have unintended consequences. Sanctions called for in Howard's bill could lead to employment discrimination by businesses by making them reluctant to hire people from foreign countries, said Jennifer Carter of Nebraska Appleseed.

Gov. Dave Heineman has a different proposal that would require state agencies to verify any resident applying for state benefits is in the United States legally.

People who testified Wednesday seemed like would be happy with any steps the state might take.

"Those who hire them flourish," said Dimitrij Krynsky, who immigrated to the United States from Czechoslovakia a quarter century ago and says he now fears the country is "losing its soul" because of illegal immigration. "Those who play by the rules lose. And the taxpayers subsidize" the winners, he said.

http://biz.yahoo.com

I'm glad to see that State Rep. Jerome Warner has some "common-sense". Why should Nebraska give tax breaks to big corporations who then turn around and hire "cheap" illegals and put our own workers out of a job! I retired from a large corporation in Nebraska who filed for the tax breaks. Each year they had to prove that they were still in compliance with the Act. These companies should be required to prove that they hired Nebraska citizens, not illegals. That’ the whole point of the law. To give our own citizens jobs!