October 12, 2005
Associated Press
Scott Bauer

LINCOLN, Neb.- Nebraskans want to see meaningful immigration reform that will result in an easier path to citizenship, not more fences around the border, an organizer of a downtown rally said Wednesday.

"Nebraskans are community-oriented and they're fair. They don't want enforcement without the other elements of a real solution," said Milo Mumgaard, director of the Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest, which organized the rally and an afternoon public forum dubbed Nebraska Comes Together.

About 75 people attended the rally held outside the federal building.

There is growing support in Nebraska for immigration reform, said Darcy Tromanhauser, who works on immigration issues at the Appleseed Center.

The current immigration system is broken and holds everyone back, she said.

Rally participants - said to represent business, labor, community, education and faith-based organizations - didn't offer up any specific proposals for Congress or anyone else to consider. Instead, the event was meant to highlight the contributions immigrants make to society and to voice support for that community, Tromanhauser said.

The Appleseed-organized coalition intends to hold public forums and pay for radio ads across the state spreading that message, she said.

"We're really at a moment of opportunity to move forward and reform the broken system," Tromanhauser said.

In a release, the coalition said any reform it would support must include:

- legal avenues for workers to enter the United States in a safe and orderly manner;

- an opportunity for immigrants to work toward permanent residency;

- allowances for family unity;

- border security and regulation;

- and assurances that immigrants are treated with dignity and respect.

Cecilia Huerta, director of Nebraska's Mexican American Commission, said she wasn't optimistic that immigration reform was imminent.

"It's more of the same," she said. "I think people in Washington are really out of touch with the real world and what's happening."

Efforts at comprehensive immigration reform on the national level have stalled ever since President Bush outlined initiatives in January 2004.

Last month U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., drew criticism from Huerta and other immigration reform advocates when he said he planned to introduce legislation intended to close America's borders to illegal immigrants and crack down on businesses that hire them.

Nelson's colleague, Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., introduced an immigration bill last year that would have required undocumented immigrants to work in the country for four years and pass security and criminal background checks to be eligible for legal status. Hagel said he is working on introducing a similar version of the bill.

U.S. Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., are sponsoring a bill that would create 400,000 three-year visas for guest workers. It would also require the undocumented workers to register with the government, pay all back taxes and a $2,000 fine, then go through a series of background checks and work at least six years before applying for a green card.

An estimated 10 million to 12 million illegal immigrants are believed to be in the United States, although no numbers are available on how many are of working age. There are estimated to be about 80,000 immigrants in Nebraska who have arrived in the past 15 years, Huerta said, although not all of them are here illegally.