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As we sink under the deluge of Pillen and Herbster ads, at least a couple of sizable questions are inescapable. One, why are these two who seek the GOP gubernatorial nomination so intent on scaring Republican primary voters about immigration? Two, will the demagoguery on this non-issue be rewarded by voters?

Even a cursory glance at a map confirms Nebraskas geographical position hundreds of miles removed from any national border. The most minimal familiarity with the Constitution of the United States and concepts of federalism confirms the federal governments sole authority to determine and enforce immigration laws. And candidates scaremongering on this issue can only be interpreted to mean that the Biden administrations purported failures related to immigration are not being adequately redressed by Nebraskas current governor, something Pete Ricketts would surely dispute vigorously.

What, pray tell, do these two seeking to be our next state chief executive think they are going to do: build a big, beautiful wall circling our states borders? How will the gates at the ends of Interstate 80 and I-76 work, and will there be a tunnel for the water flowing through the canal to be built to bring South Platte River water into Nebraska?

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The absurdity of what these candidates assert is as laughable as the cartoonlike posturing dominating their ads, but the pervasiveness of the sloganeering suggests that there must be something legitimate about it. There isnt. State governments have zero authority to legislate or enforce national immigration law. Even the most authoritarian governor has no role based in law on issues of immigration. Any wisdom that could be gleaned from experiences of governors whose states are near a national border has no application to Nebraska, firmly ensconced midcountry.

Well, there is crime, right? Wrong. In a study of crimes committed in 2018 in Texas, the only state that maintains immigration status records of those who are arrested, the illegal immigrant conviction rate was 782 per 100,000 illegal immigrants, 535 per 100,000 legal immigrants, and 1,422 per 100,000 native-born Americans. Illegal immigrants had a conviction rate 45% less than native-born citizens, and legal immigrants conviction rate was about one-third of that of native-born citizens. Other studies on the topic widely confirm the conclusion: Native-born Americans commit crimes at much higher rates than either legal or illegal immigrants.

Here in Nebraska, we are experiencing historically low unemployment rates. Employers simply cannot find enough people to do the work that is here to be done now. The same conditions exist regionally and, to varying degrees, across our country. And our national birth rate is insufficient to replenish the labor supply.

In the three decades plus of my legal practice, I have had the pleasure of representing scores of immigrants. In my 56 years plus of life, I have been blessed to know hundreds of immigrants, including my paternal grandmother. Generally speaking, my experience is that immigrants are as hardworking, family loving, law abiding, taxpaying and American dreaming as we who had the good fortune to be born in this country.

So just who are these immigrants that we are supposed to be so afraid of? Where are the facts that support the assertion that this is a problem in Nebraska? Or is it just that many immigrants do not speak, look and worship the way we do? Herbsters and Pillens insistence that immigrants are some sort of boogeymen to be feared, persecuted and deported is as erroneous as it is offensive.

We need workers. Immigration must be part of the solution. But elected federal office holders have refused, for decades and across Republican and Democrat administrations alike, to seriously address immigration policy. In the meantime, candidates even for offices that have nothing to do with immigration, like governorships disingenuously raise immigration as some sinister proposition, a scare-tactic point of divisiveness, only driving deeper the wedge of deceit on this issue that cries out for thoughtful resolution.

What if voters quit rewarding candidates who defame immigrants and use the issue only to seek political advantage? What progress might be made if Republican primary voters reject Pillen and Herbster and instead select Brett Lindstrom? What will it say about Republican primary voters if they dont?

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Paloucek: What's behind focus on immigration in the governor's race? - North Platte Telegraph