Nebraska Must Intervene in Immigration Issue According to Report
By micro99 at 11 December, 2008, 4:14 pm
A report released by the Nebraska legislature’s judiciary committee today finds that if the state’s lawmakers do not deal with the issue of its growing immigrant population it risks fueling discrimination and having a population of underclass workers.
Senator Brad Ashford, the chairman of the state’s judiciary committee, says one of his plans is to address the issue of employment verification with the possibility implementing a mandatory E-Verify system to keep employers from hiring illegal immigrants.
However, in implementing new measures, Ashford warns that the state must consider how the loss of immigrants might affect the economy. A number of legal immigrants have already left the state because of discrimination, Ashford said.
But he said things must change, and the state will be forced to get involved.
“We’re complicit in creating an underclass,” Ashford told the Omaha World-Herald. “It’s not good in the long run for illegal immigrants nor is it good for people who have worked hard to become citizens.”
Today’s report suggests a number of policy options which may alleviate the problem, including funding to help students learn English and increasing the number of competent interpreters at state agencies.
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