Two weeks after advancing legislation that would allow the children of immigrants who entered the country illegally to serve as law enforcement officers, the Legislature on Monday had second thoughts.
The amendment to a bill (LB894) from Sen. Teresa Ibach requiring candidates for county sheriff to have attended and completed a sheriff's certification course was adopted with 36 votes on March 4.
But Ibach said several senators approached her in the days following to express concerns that allowing individuals with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status — better known as DACA — to serve as police officers and sheriff's deputies in Nebraska may have larger implications.
"While I understand the workforce issues facing law enforcement, I was not fully on board with attaching the amendment to LB894," said Ibach, who did not vote for the amendment but supported advancing her bill, "but I allowed the members of this body to vote their conscience."
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On Monday, Ibach said giving recipients of DACA — which started in 2012 under President Barack Obama — the ability to be in law enforcement gave them privileges over those with green cards or work permits, which she told her colleagues was unfair.
Ibach also said a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court or action by Congress or a future president could end the DACA status, and consequently, remove the law enforcement certification of those individuals.
The amendment, she added, "opens a conversation that should be studied further."
Other senators said they thought the amendment was a good first step and indicated they believed it should stay on the bill, however.
Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh said a potential future where DACA is ended should not stop Nebraska from acting to provide opportunities for individuals who are lawfully present in the country.
"It seemed like a good place to start," Cavanaugh said.
And Omaha Sen. Mike McDonnell said the concerns raised by opponents that DACA recipients were prohibited from carrying firearms is not a problem for those individuals who serve in the U.S. military.
A handful of states, including California, Colorado, Illinois and Virginia, that allow DACA recipients to become law enforcement officers have found workarounds, such as requiring those officers to turn in their guns at the end of their shifts.
But Sen. Robert Dover of Norfolk and Sen. Mike Jacobson of North Platte — both of whom voted to attach the amendment during the first round of debate — said they had second thoughts.
Dover said Madison County Sheriff Todd Volk expressed concern that the bill would open up law enforcement agencies to lawsuits.
Rep. Mike Flood, a former state senator from Norfolk, took to social media after LB894 passed the first round of debate to say DACA recipients who become law enforcement officers "could be easily discredited in front of virtually any jury."
Jacobson said he did not "understand all of the ramifications" of allowing so-called Dreamers to become police officers when he voted in favor of the amendment, and said voters in his district responded negatively.
"The second house made it abundantly clear they do not want this," Jacobson said.
Wayne, who worked with Sen. Julie Slama of Dunbar on the amendment, said the Legislature found itself in "a weird spot" in giving overwhelming support to an amendment that the introducer who agreed to have it attached personally objected to.
He said he supported removing the amendment because LB894 was named a speaker's priority bill, which gives the sponsor more control over what makes it into the legislation.
Ibach's amendment nearly failed, however, as the vote count hovered at 24 before Wayne asked for a call of the house, requiring all senators to return to the chamber to vote.
Her amendment to strike the earlier amendment was adopted with 25 votes. Eleven senators voted against removing the provisions allowing DACA recipients to become law enforcement officers.
The Legislature then advanced the bill to the final of three rounds of consideration.
Ibach pledged to study the issue further after the session concludes and bring a more comprehensive bill in the 2025 legislative session.