Lincoln, Ne - Members of the Business and Labor Committee considered a bill Feb. 10 that seeks to provide public benefits to work-authorized immigrants in Nebraska.
LB299, introduced by Sumner Sen. Teresa Ibach, would grant access to public employment and retirement benefits — including unemployment insurance benefits, deferred compensation and educational financial aid — to all work-eligible Nebraskans regardless of immigration status. The bill also would extend eligible benefits to a qualified employee’s family members and dependents.
Ibach said Nebraska is the only state in which work-authorized immigrants, such as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Temporary Protected Status recipients, cannot access the unemployment benefits they have earned and that their employers have paid for.
The individuals the bills seek to benefit are not criminals or undocumented immigrants, Ibach said, they are “good people” who work hard, pay taxes and contribute to society.
“We, as a state, financially benefit from them being here,” she said. “I fully believe the least we can do is treat them equally.”
Speaking in support of the bill on behalf of the Nebraska Alliance for Thriving Communities, Matt Williams said the biggest challenge Nebraska businesses face is workforce. It’s a problem throughout the state, he said, and one that LB299 could help resolve.
“Over the last decade, 100% of our state’s population increase has come from immigration,” Williams said. “Positive immigration solutions will create strong Nebraska communities, families and workforce all across our state.”
Several DACA recipients also testified in support of the proposal, including Zayra Navarrete. She said work authorization has allowed her to contribute to a pension and life insurance, but without unemployment benefits she would be forced to take out a loan or sell her assets if faced with an unexpected job loss.
“The contribution of DACA recipients in many work fields is substantial, but the care and respect [we receive] is minimal,” Navarrete said.
Tom Venzor of the Nebraska Catholic Conference also testified in support of the proposal. He said the current prohibition on unemployment benefits for work-authorized immigrants is an injustice for Nebraskans who have worked hard to support their families, contribute to local communities and grow the state economy.
“We have an opportunity through LB299 to adjust our state’s public policy and provide work-authorized migrants the same benefits their coworkers receive,” Venzor said. “This legislation makes not only economic sense … but it also makes moral sense as the just thing to do.”
Speaking on behalf of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Greater Omaha Chamber and Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, Hunter Traynor also testified in favor, calling the proposal a “no nonsense” way to ensure a strong labor force.
Opposing the bill was interim Commissioner of Labor Katie Thurber. LB299 essentially creates a new definition of “eligible alien,” she said, which is broad enough to potentially provide benefits even if an immigrant lost their work authorization.
Thurber said the department has been advised by the federal government that the bill could jeopardize federal funds if the language causes the state to be out of conformity with federal regulations. The result could be the loss of nearly $400 million in federal unemployment tax credits, she said.
Thurber also noted that maintaining conformity becomes “particularly concerning” given current uncertainties surrounding the future of the DACA program.