David Hahn's Statement on Immigration

Democratic candidate for governor David Hahn said Wednesday that he knows what he do will about illegal immigration as governor, and he pointed out that Governor Dave Heineman ducked the issue to curry favor with his political higher ups.

"Governor Heineman used one of the oldest and most cynical gimmicks in his bag of political tricks. He ducked the illegal immigration issue by saying he would leave it up to Congress!"

"Ask Nebraskans what they think of how Congress has handled illegal immigration so far. Inaction by Congress got Nebraska and the rest of the country into this mess. Nebraskans look at Washington and know that on this critical problem, they have been sold out by a do nothing, do too little, Congress," Hahn said.

"Heineman's next insult to the intelligence of Nebraskans was saying that he wouldn't bring the issue up with President Bush because he wouldn't have time."

"If Dave Heineman couldn't find 30 seconds to mention Nebraskans' deep concerns about illegal immigration, he let down the people of this state and apparently only functioned like a doorman at the country club." Hahn said.

"The governor needs a lesson in how American government is supposed to work. The states created the federal government, and the federal government is supposed to serve the people. A governor should make his state's wishes known to the president and Congress, and fight for them," Hahn said.

"The governor also backed down from Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, the sponsor of the bill that would grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants. Heineman knows that Nebraskans don't want the bill that Hagel wants Congress to pass. Why doesn't the governor urge Hagel to represent Nebraskans? Is he so dedicated to party politics that he won't represent the will of the people if his friends in Washington don't care about it?" Hahn said.

Hahn said that, as governor:

"I will immediately set up a task force of industry, community, and advocacy leaders to determine the best methods to review and substantiate legal credentials for working in the state of Nebraska. I would assign the task force to make the review and a report within 30 days. Common sense business and community people can do the job in that amount of time."

"I will send the Legislature a package to implement a computerized program that will allow employers to easily comply with legal hiring practices. This system would be called the Nebraskan Plan. Once perfected, it could provide the state with additional revenues by having it licensed to other states."

"I will immediately open negotiations with the Department of Homeland Security to re-open a facility in Hastings for illegal immigrants from the Midwest region to stay until appropriate legal action can be taken in each case."

"I will continue to voice the concern of Nebraskans that border security is a must-do first step to solve the problem of illegal immigration, and not shy away from making those views known to the President of the United States."