Latest news with #LB299
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill to benefit Nebraska immigrant ‘Dreamers' squashed after Trump order
A Nebraska bill that would have benefited immigrant DACA recipients won't move forward, sponsors said. Shown here, supporters of the DACA program rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court. (Robin Bravender/ States Newsroom) LINCOLN — A proposed Nebraska law that had bipartisan support and would have benefited immigrant 'Dreamers' has been crushed under the weight of a Trump administration threat that the state could lose hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid if it is enacted. Legislative Bill 299, in part, sought to align Nebraska with what advocates said already had been the practice of most, if not all, other states: allowing immigrants who have legal permission to work in the U.S. but lack permanent residency access to the unemployment insurance benefits their employers pay into. Before the bill's sponsors backed off Thursday, LB 299 had cleared a few key hurdles, including a March 6 vote by the Legislature's Business and Labor Committee that poised the measure for debate by the state's full lawmaking body. But a Feb. 19 executive order from President Donald Trump titled 'Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders' has since come into play. State Sen. Teresa Ibach of Sumner withdrew her name Thursday from the bill. Co-sponsor State Sen. Margo Juarez of Omaha said she saw no alternative but to drop the effort this year. Proponents said they were maddened by the latest twist for the proposed law that had gained support from a range of business and civic groups. A leader of the religious coalition Omaha Together One Community told the Nebraska Examiner on Friday that its members are 'outraged.' 'The fact that the federal government would swoop in and block a bill that clearly represented the will of Nebraskans is a blatant insult to our state and should not be tolerated,' said Kathleen Grant. Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen's spokesperson, Laura Strimple, said Friday that the governor was pleased with the recent turn of events. 'Governor Pillen strongly opposes giving taxpayer benefits to illegal aliens and is pleased the Legislature will not act on this bill further this session,' she said. LB 299 sponsors said the bill primarily would have impacted so-called 'Dreamers,' who grew up in the U.S. after being brought here illegally as minors by their parents and who obtained legal permission, under the Obama administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, to work and live in the country. DACA recipients don't have permanent residency, and the program has been challenged in court. LB 299, they said, also was designed to benefit asylum-seekers who have been granted work authorization while their requests are reviewed and others with Temporary Protected Status, which is granted when returning to a person's home country is unsafe due to natural disaster, extraordinary conditions or war. While advocates have mostly focused on opening the door to unemployment benefits, the bill called for 'eligible aliens' who are employed in Nebraska to have access to the same public employment benefits offered to any other similarly situated employee, with a few exceptions. Access included participation in certain public retirement and deferred compensation programs. There's no way I can fight a threat like that. – State Sen. Margo Juarez of Omaha The 6-0 legislative committee vote that pushed the bill to the debate stage came after state and federal labor officials had resolved what Ibach described last week as a 'technical' problem with the bill. The concern was raised during a Feb. 10 public hearing. Nebraska Labor Commissioner Katie Thurber told lawmakers that LB 299, as then drafted, could cost the state more than $400 million in federal tax credits. She said the original language was too broad, created a new state definition for 'eligible alien' and would allow benefits even if the immigrant lost legal authorization to work in the U.S. Ibach and Juarez believed that the path had been smoothed — until, they said, a federal labor official reached out to the state Labor Department and Pillen's office this week, bringing up the Feb. 19 executive order. Juarez said she was caught off guard and was told that millions of dollars were at risk. 'There's no way I can fight a threat like that.' Thurber, in a statement to the Examiner on Friday, said that while an amendment addressed an initial concern, 'the situation has become complicated with recently proposed federal actions.' She said, for example, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on March 10 issued a proposed rule removing DACA recipients from the definition of 'lawfully present' for the purposes of eligibility under the Affordable Care Act. 'This coupled with the executive order from President Trump … makes it clear that extending benefits to illegal immigrants, including DACA recipients, is in direct conflict with federal policy.' Thurber said the bill 'poses significant risk that Nebraska's unemployment insurance system could face consequences if it goes against federal directives' aimed at illegal immigration. The Trump order, citing a 1996 federal law, said the law 'generally prohibits illegal aliens from obtaining most taxpayer-funded benefits.' The directive gave federal agencies and the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, 30 days to identify federally-funded programs that 'permit illegal aliens to obtain any cash or non-cash public benefit.' Ibach said she retreated from LB 299 after Pillen's staff alerted her to the executive order and potential fallout. 'We were disappointed but thankful the Governor's Office called our attention to the reality of how LB 299 was going to be framed going forward,' she said. Nick Grandgenett, an attorney with Nebraska Appleseed, views the executive order as applicable to federal public benefits and said the proposed legislation pertained to state employment benefits. 'It really is outside the scope of that executive order,' he said. But adding the Trump order to an already complex marriage of immigration and employment systems muddies the waters, he said. 'I don't think there is truly a problem with the bill,' Grandgenett said. 'The confusion is kind of winning the day.' State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha said the situation signals trouble for Nebraska. She characterized LB 299 as an important bill with bipartisan support and challenged Nebraska Republican officials at all levels of government to stand up. 'When we have people in leadership not standing up for vulnerable populations like those covered in this bill, then we are going to be in a really bad place,' she said. Representatives of organizations such as the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nebraska Catholic Conference, and the Nebraska Alliance for Thriving Communities spoke in support of the bill during the public hearing. The alliance is a coalition that includes labor unions, hospitals, banks, cattlemen and pork producers. Ibach sees the effort as dead for now, unless labor officials can find a path forward. She said she'd continue to work on immigration and DACA reform. Juarez said she had made LB 299 her priority bill because she felt strongly that the targeted immigrant populations working with U.S. authorization deserved access to benefits — and that Nebraska businesses needed their talent. She said she is left 'extremely frustrated,' but won't give up and hopes for a revival during a different legislative session. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill to open unemployment benefits to immigrant ‘Dreamers' advances to legislative debate
A bill advanced to debate by the full Legislature would align Nebraska with other states in allowing Dreamers, DACA recipients, access to unemployment benefits. Shown here, supporters of the DACA program rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court. (Robin Bravender/ States Newsroom) LINCOLN — Nebraska is a step closer to joining other states in allowing 'Dreamers' — and other immigrants who have legal permission to work in the U.S. but who lack permanent residency — access to unemployment insurance benefits. The Legislature's Business and Labor Committee, despite concerns raised during a previous public hearing, voted last week to advance Legislative Bill 299 on to full debate by the Legislature. State Sen. Teresa Ibach of Sumner, who introduced the bill along with Sen. Margo Juarez of Omaha, said the U.S. Department of Labor had flagged a 'technical' problem with language in the initial draft, which put federal funding at risk. She said federal and local labor officials worked to resolve the issue. 'Once that was fixed, the committee moved to advance it to the floor for debate by the entire Legislature,' Ibach said. 'Nebraska is the only state that does not allow legal work authorized immigrants to collect unemployment and retirement benefits that they have paid into.' The previous Feb. 10 public hearing on LB 299 drew testimony that was overwhelmingly in favor of the bill. Among those who spoke were Nebraska Dreamers, immigrants who grew up in the U.S. after being brought to this country as minors by their parents and who qualified for the Obama administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Those Dreamers, under current Nebraska law, would not be able to receive unemployment benefits, despite that they work with proper authorization and that their employers are required to pay unemployment insurance taxes on their behalf. In addition to Dreamers, others who would benefit from LB 299 are asylum-seekers who have been granted work authorization while their requests are reviewed and those with Temporary Protected Status, which is granted when returning to a person's home country is unsafe due to natural disaster, extraordinary conditions or war. Nebraska lawmakers hear support for opening unemployment insurance to immigrant 'Dreamers' The lone opponent who testified during the public hearing, interim Nebraska Labor Commissioner Katie Thurber, noted the now-addressed problem that had been raised by federal officials. She said more than $400 million in federal unemployment tax credits was at stake because the language was written too broadly, and reached beyond certain federal requirements. State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln challenged that at the time, saying: 'I find it really hard to believe that we in the state of Nebraska can not get it right like all the other 49 states have done to make sure we are in conformity.' A similar bill introduced in 2021 failed to pass into law. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nebraska lawmakers hear support for opening unemployment insurance to immigrant ‘Dreamers'
The Nebraska Alliance for Thriving Communities, a coalition of labor unions, hospitals, banks, cattlemen and pork producers gather in September at the Capitol to proclaim that certain immigration policies and laws should be updated, partly to help address Nebraska's workforce shortage. The alliance supported Legislative Bill 299, which was the topic of a public hearing Monday. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — Nebraska lawmakers are considering a legislative proposal that would put the state in sync with nearly all states, if not all, in allowing access to unemployment insurance benefits to immigrants who have permission to work in the U.S. but who lack permanent residency. The state's current prohibition on the benefits applies to certain authorized immigrant workers despite the fact their employers pay unemployment insurance taxes on their behalf. So-called 'Dreamers,' who grew up in the U.S. after being brought here illegally as minors by their parents, are a primary population excluded from such benefits. Nebraska Dreamers, those legally in the country as recipients of the Obama administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, were among the 10 people in the majority that testified Monday in support of Legislative Bill 299 at the Nebraska Capitol. LB 299, the topic of a public hearing before the Legislature's Business and Labor Committee, has bipartisan sponsorship. It was introduced by State Sen. Teresa Ibach of Sumner, a Republican, and co-sponsored by State Sen. Margo Juarez of Omaha, a Democrat. We're talking about Nebraska's workforce shortage, and these individuals have been essential to filling in that workforce shortage and are in compliance with the federal laws. – State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln Zayra Navarrete, who has had DACA status since 2013 and works as a financial advisor in Hastings, told the committee she contributes to a pension, life insurance and unemployment benefits. She said she lives in fear that if unforeseen circumstances led to a job loss, she would not have the same lifeline as co-workers. 'I am constantly preparing alternatives for an emergency crisis,' Navarrete said, figuring out backup strategies that include taking out loans or selling personal assets. She said the question of unemployment benefits for workers in her situation came to the forefront during COVID- 19 — when some workers who were laid-off were not provided the same help to get by during the crescendo of the pandemic. Said Navarrete: 'Why is a state that is benefiting over $14 million in state and local taxes from DACA recipients not allowing us to access those funds?' The National Immigration Law Center did not have a current comprehensive inventory of states with policies akin to LB 299. But Tanya Broder, senior counsel, said that most, if not all states, offer unemployment insurance benefits to immigrants in similar situations. Nick Grandgenett, an attorney with Nebraska Appleseed, said the proposed legislation would benefit DACA recipients as well as asylum-seekers who have been granted work authorization while their requests are reviewed and others with Temporary Protected Status that is granted when returning to a person's home country is unsafe due to natural disaster, extraordinary conditions or war. The only person to testify in opposition to LB 299 on Monday was interim Labor Commissioner Katie Thurber, who noted that the measure essentially creates a new state definition for 'eligible alien.' She said that more than $400 million in federal funds is at stake. For Nebraska to receive federal funds to help administer its unemployment program, the state must meet certain federal conformity requirements, Thurber said. She said Nebraska has been given an advanced warning by the U.S. Department of Labor that, as drafted, LB 299 likely creates a conformity issue. She said her understanding is that the language is too broad, allowing benefits even if the immigrant lost legal authorization to work in the U.S. Maintaining conformity under LB 299, she said, 'becomes particularly concerning' given the uncertain future of DACA, depending on the results of an ongoing court battle. Thurber's objections prompted a firm challenge from committee member State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln. 'You know, Nebraska does have a conformity issue — a nonconformity issue,' Raybould said. 'We were the very last state in the entire United States to allow our DACA qualified people to have a driver's license. … We were the last state in the entire union to recognize the degrees they have achieved through their hard work at our own universities.' Raybould said it is her understanding that Nebraska is the only state that does not allow DACA and certain other authorized immigrant workers access to unemployment benefits that their employers contribute to. Thurber said she was not saying there aren't 'ways around' the nonconformity issue, and noted that the Labor Department worked with State Sen. Mike McDonnell of Omaha on similar 2021 legislation that was never enacted. She said, however, that as currently drafted, LB 299 could cost Nebraska employers more than $400 million in federal tax credits unless conformity questions are resolved. Backing the proposed legislation Monday were groups such as the Nebraska Alliance for Thriving Communities and business organizations including the statewide Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Omaha and Lincoln Chambers of Commerce. 'We're talking about Nebraska's workforce shortage, and these individuals have been essential to filling in that workforce shortage and are in compliance with the federal laws,' said Raybould. 'I find it really hard to believe that we in the state of Nebraska can not get it right like all the other 49 states have done to make sure we are in conformity … What are we doing wrong?' Thurber, at the end of the back-and-forth, said she has offered assistance to Ibach to address the conformity issue. State Sen. Kathleen Kauth, chair of the Business and Labor Committee, said 46 people wrote in support of the proposed legislation and eight were opposed. The committee took no action on whether to advance the bill to debate by the full Legislature. 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