Governor Jim Pillen signed an executive order Friday, pledging the state agencies of Nebraska will fully comply with recent executive orders issued by President Donald J. Trump regarding immigration law.
“This document demonstrates Nebraska’s alignment with the new federal immigration policy and provides guidance to state agencies for carrying out provisions contained in the President’s recently issued executive orders,” said Gov. Pillen.
State agencies have no later than May 31 to ensure they have met the requirements of the Governor’s executive order.
Nebraska Appleseed, a Lincoln-based nonprofit that advocates for economic justice, immigrants and child welfare, has issued the following statement in response from their Executive Director Becky Gould:
“As Nebraskans, we care about our neighbors. And we know there are Nebraska neighbors who are an important part of local communities stuck in immigration limbo because Congress hasn’t updated our immigration laws in nearly 40 years. These same neighbors have been raising families and contributing important work and taxes for many years.
Now, we face possible harsh and unproductive enforcement of outdated immigration laws that will cause harm and instability for all of us. Harsh enforcement carried out against everyday Nebraskans who are moms, dads, and neighbors – and who are supporting local restaurants, health care, agriculture, construction, and other systems and services – harms our communities.
We do not want to see communities and families torn apart while waiting to work through long and complicated immigration processes, and we certainly do not want our state and local community safety resources to be used in this way. We call on our state leaders to stand up for our longtime community members and neighbors and to promote positive solutions that would truly support local communities across Nebraska.”
A copy of EO 25-01 is available below.