Nebraska bill aims to grant eligibility to some immigrants for unemployment benefits

By Katherine Garcia

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    OMAHA, Nebraska (KETV) — As the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the country’s workforce, unemployment benefits helped keep some Nebraska families afloat.

But the state’s department of labor reports that more than 300 immigrant families were denied benefits. Sonia Leyva said back in March of 2020 she was working at a manufacturing plant in Seward, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced the company to shut down.

“So they told us that it was going to be closed for a few weeks, maybe a few months,” said Leyva.

Leyva’s boss encouraged her to apply for unemployment. But the money would never come because she is a DACA recipient.

“And then, like six weeks later, I got a letter saying that because I’m not [a] citizen or resident, that I cannot apply for unemployment,” said Leyva.

Immigrant Legal Center Attorney Micky Devitt is advocating for Nebraska Legislative Bill 298. If passed, immigrants with a work authorization status would be eligible to apply for unemployment.

“So we were in this situation where all of these workers, their employers were paying into the system assuming they would get the benefit, and when the pandemic hits, they didn’t get it,” said Devitt.

Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts opposed the bill last year.

“This bill would grant unemployment benefits to certain categories of illegal immigrants living in Nebraska,” said Ricketts. “This would weaken existing state law that forbids spending taxpayer money to give unemployment benefits to people illegally residing in our state. The current crisis at our nation’s border with Mexico shows the consequences of watering down immigration laws. Nebraska shouldn’t follow suit.”

“All of the opposition that we’ve seen out of the governor’s office presumes that this is going to be going to undocumented immigrants, which it’s not,” said Devitt.

Devitt added Nebraska is the only state in the country that does not provide this earned benefit.

“It’s a bridge that helps a lot of families stay stable, stay housed and stay in Nebraska,” said Devitt.

A mother of three at the time, Leyva said she struggled to make ends meet for months. She said she had to rely on others to help pay the bills until she found another job.

“I had my parents here to help me and my family and friends, but not everybody has that opportunity to have family to help,” said Leyva.

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