LINCOLN, Neb:Immigration bill appears stuck

[Jeanfromfillmore]

Immigration bill appears stuck
LINCOLN — The sponsor of an Arizona-style immigration bill in the Nebraska Legislature predicted Tuesday that he won’t get the measure advanced for debate this year.
State Sen. Charlie Janssen of Fremont said he doesn’t see enough support in the Judiciary Committee to advance the bill for debate by all 49 senators.
“I still think it’s worth a discussion,” Janssen said. “This is the first year I’ve run this bill.”
Janssen’s proposal, Legislative Bill 48, promised to be one of the more controversial proposals of the 2011 session.
Four hundred people rallied against the bill on the State Capitol steps last month, but Gov. Dave Heineman and other advocates for tougher enforcement of immigration laws have spoken out in favor of state action.
The bill is scheduled for a public hearing next Wednesday before the Judiciary Committee.
Five of the eight committee members are needed to advance bills, and Janssen said he can count only two supporters at this point.
Janssen’s bill borrows significantly from an Arizona law that is on hold due to a legal challenge.
The bill would require local law officers to check the immigration status of people they suspect are in the country illegally, if they have been stopped for other reasons.
It also would create state crimes for failing to register as an alien, failing to carry such registration information, working in the country illegally and for harboring, transporting or concealing an illegal immigrant.
Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said he can’t speak for the panel but he opposes LB 48. He said Janssen has “a heavy burden” in getting five votes.
Nebraska, he said, has already passed a law to deny benefits and public jobs to illegal immigrants, and that law is working because few are applying for them.
Janssen said his bill is the only “meaningful” immigration reform proposal this year, and that if it dies, he’ll introduce it again next year.
http://www.omaha.com/article/2011022...1/702239877/-1