As we prepare for holiday time with family and friends, too many Nebraska neighbors are living in immigration limbo and constant uncertainty because of long outdated immigration laws – with ripple effects that impact families, workplaces, whole communities, all of us.
It doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, just weeks ago, 60+ Nebraska organizations across the state and across sectors announced broad Nebraska support for updated and positive immigration laws and related state-level investments that would support thriving Nebraska communities, economy, families, and future. This shared support included rural, urban, agriculture, health care, long-term care, hospitality, education, construction, immigrant and refugee Nebraskans, children and families perspectives, local chambers of commerce, faith, business, labor, and local community perspectives.
Before the holidays, take a moment to add your voice!
Make sure Nebraska’s members of Congress hear strong Nebraska support for positive immigration laws as they think ahead about 2025. Call both of your U.S. Senators & your Representative today and tell them we need them to create stability for longtime immigrant community members who have been part of local communities for many years – which in turn creates stability for all of us.
Senator Pete Ricketts: 202-224-4224
Senator Deb Fischer: 202-224-6551
Find your Representative here
Congressman Mike Flood: 202-225-4806
Congressman Don Bacon: 202-225-4155
Congressman Adrian Smith: 202-225-6435
Sample Message:
Hello, my name is [your name]. I live in [town/city]. I’m calling to urge my member of Congress to create stability for Nebraska families and communities by fixing long outdated immigration laws. It has been nearly 40 years since Congress updated our immigration laws in a meaningful way, and I know how much support there is in Nebraska for positive policies that create a process for residency and citizenship for longtime community members. I hear you talk about the border, but not about the policies that would support local families and communities. This is important to me because [share a reason that is important to you].
In Nebraska, broad support continues to grow. Over the past year through hundreds of conversations and meetings connecting perspectives across the state, the wide range of 60+ Nebraska organizations shared experiences on the local workforce and community impact of outdated immigration laws and identified shared vision for what federal and state policies need to accomplish in order to best support Nebraska communities.
Strong themes emerged about the current impacts of harmfully outdated immigration laws on local Nebraska communities, including:
- Extreme workforce strain – not only for core jobs but throughout related support systems (not only dairy farmers, teachers, and nurses, but also food service, transportation, maintenance, and repair).
- Constant instability & uncertainty for families, employers, and whole communities.
- Worrisome impacts on rural and urban community life, including an inability to provide everyday services that both urban and rural communities need to thrive.
From these experiences, there was strong alignment across diverse Nebraska stakeholders that our policies need to support:
- Permanency for local community members (long-term need, not short-term)
- Families (not just individuals) to sustain whole communities
- Stability for longtime community members, employers, families, & whole communities
- Many more people across the skills spectrum for the next chapter of Nebraska’s future
- Simpler, workable immigration processes in a reasonable amount of time
- Related investments in state infrastructure that will welcome and retain new and longtime people
Thank you for taking action for strong and stable local communities! To learn more, read:
- Nebraska Alliance for Thriving Communities: Short Summary
- Nebraska Stories of Local Impact of outdated immigration laws