Pillen orders Nebraska agencies to fall in line with Trump immigration crackdown

LINCOLN — Gov. Jim Pillen Friday ordered state agencies to take steps to carry out President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown — including telling the Nebraska State Patrol and prison leaders to alert federal officials about suspected immigration law-breakers.

The executive order establishes Nebraska’s “Support for Federal Immigration Policy Implementation” program, and sets a May 31 deadline to meet all requirements laid out by Pillen to fulfill Trump’s Jan 20 executive orders.

“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,” the missive said.

ACLU fires back

ACLU Nebraska immediately fired back, noting that Pillen’s order references several Trump executive orders that include language referring to undocumented immigrants as part of an “invasion.” 

The civil rights organization said there’s been a flurry of media coverage relaying Nebraskans’ fears about a coming crackdown and what it could mean for communities and families across the state.

Earlier this week, police chiefs in Nebraska’s two largest cities said they were unaware of any planned immigration enforcement actions coming to their areas, and tried to assure residents that local officers would not actively seek out people based on immigration status.

“The governor’s support for the current administration’s extreme immigration agenda is disgraceful,” said Mindy Rush Chipman, executive director of ACLU Nebraska. “As a reminder, we are talking about an administration that has moved to deny birthright citizenship to babies and disregard due process, both of which are unconstitutional actions that the ACLU is already challenging in the courts.”

In one of the cases mentioned, a federal judge in Washington state on Thursday temporarily blocked Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship.

Rush Chipman said it is vital that everyone covered under Pillen’s executive order understands “it does not override their [the state’s] legal obligations, including providing fair and nondiscriminatory treatment.”

She issued a caution of her own: “If officials cross legal lines to follow this order, we will see them in court.”

Nebraska Appleseed is among other groups that also reacted, issuing a statement calling Pillen’s order “deeply contrary to Nebraska’s values of dignity, fairness, respect and justice.”

“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,” said Appleseed executive director Becky Gould.

Pillen’s executive order acknowledges that the primary responsibility for enforcing immigration laws rests with the federal government. But it says that states, counties, cities and towns have “crucial roles” in fighting illegal immigration “and protecting our citizens.”

Patrol, prisons, agencies

Under Pillen’s executive order, the State Patrol and Department of Correctional Services shall:

• Fully cooperate with efforts by the U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security and subsidiary agencies in the enforcement of existing federal immigration laws.
• Contact those federal authorities when any ongoing criminal investigation results in the apprehension of a person “where a reasonable suspicion exists” that immigration laws have been violated.
• Notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement when such an individual is to be released from custody — and keep that person in custody to ease transfer to the requesting authority.

Immigrants under temporary protections on fast track for deportation under Trump policy

For all state departments and agencies, the governor directs them to:

• Review their policies and practices to ensure support for federal immigration laws, including the Jan. 20 Trump orders: Protecting the American People Against Invasion, Security Our Borders and Declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border.
• Cooperate with ICE’s criminal apprehension and national fugitive operations programs targeting undocumented people who have criminal records and pose a public safety threat.

For all Nebraska agencies with law enforcement or incarceration authority:

• Consider formal procedures and agreements to help the federal government in the enforcement of immigration law, including agreements under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. That section authorizes ICE to delegate to state and local law enforcement officers the authority to perform certain immigration enforcement functions.