Posted: 06 May 2008 08:52 PM CDT

The federal government is holding back federal funding for a Nebraska public commission in order to punish the state’s attorney general for refusing to use taxpayer dollars to file lawsuits for illegal aliens . Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning would not pursue cases on behalf of illegal immigrants. As a result, the state’s Equal Opportunity Commission lost $240,000 in annual federal funding.

The commission’s head insisted that the state’s top prosecutor pursue a discrimination case on behalf of an illegal immigrant couple that was asked by a landlord for drivers’ licenses. Non-Hispanic tenants did not have to provide licenses therefore the commission determined that the illegal aliens were victims of discrimination.

The Attorney General refused to take legal action representing illegals in the case, stating that the 1996 federal welfare reform law prohibits him from providing legal services to illegal immigrants. “I’m not going to use taxpayer dollars to file lawsuits for illegal aliens,” he confirmed, adding that those who are not citizens of this country are not going to get a free lawyer from his office.

Bruning’s stance caused outrage among immigrant advocates, who are planning a lawsuit. The director of a renowned radical Chicano group (National Council of La Raza) that advocates the return of the American Southwest to Mexico, says Bruning is allowing people to “run wild over immigrants.”

Bob Gerhart told you they were authorized but not funded????

I wonder who is in charge of PWC PD recruiting….and even MORE interesting, whom do you suppose is in charge of the PWC PD recruiters who didn’t recruit? Do you suppose THAT Corey Stewart and Mike May were responsible for that too, Bob? Don’t think so.

Actualy I asked that same questions of Gerhert if vacant positions are funded because they exist and if so where are those funds being used in the Budget. His answer was they do not fund all positions that are authorized and some they do not fund at all knowing they will not be filled. I like you believed that all positions are funded in the budget but that is not so. One would have to look futher to see if the position in the PD that are not filleda re funded in the Budget or not.

I wonder who is in charge of PWC PD recruiting….and even MORE interesting, whom do you suppose is in charge of the PWC PD recruiters who didn’t recruit? Do you suppose THAT Corey Stewart and Mike May were responsible for that too, Bob? Don’t think so.

one can not take the politics of the BOCS supervisors out of the factor for it is their politics of not spending that Deane knows and therefor can not buy something that will not be funded to operate such as the camera’s.

Do you believe that the BOCS would have funded the operation of the cameras before this year?

From the article:

“The temporary worker program would mean Mexican workers “can have all the rights that any other worker in that country has even though they do not have American citizenship or documents at the moment,” Fox said”

How about the responsibilities that come with those rights? Like keeping your home and property neat, not keeping chickens in your residentially zoned neighborhood, learning the native language, and becoming a part of the community rather than creating you own little ghetto?

Cheney you seem to forget the most important cost related to the cameras which no Federal grant will pay for and is an on going cost year after year and that is the personel to review every tape and to maintain the tapes and that staff. It was several million dollars a year in reoccuring expense for there were I believe 5-6 people needed for the camera’s. The BOCS has not been eager to fund that cost which is way more then the cameras them selves.

That must be the politics of the BOCS which you are refering to or not ???

I see it as 2 choices: Put a camera in every car or remove the component of the resolution that puts our officers and county at risk for law suits. I believe that plan B was chosen to save the tax payers money. I have thanked the supervisors rather than vilify them. I would have done the same thing had they installed cameras for the protection of all, although perhaps not as heartily.

Money talks and everyone knows what walks.

In any case, the resolution did not need to be changed. They could have all left it the way it was and then directed the chief to do his job and apply for grants to get the funding.

But whether we should have had the cameras years ago is a moot point. We don’t have them.

And we could have had them for one penny. But Marty and Mike made sure that didn’t happen.

Marty was the one at the anti-bvbl party.

Marty and Mike were the one’s scurrying back and forth in the board chambers the night of this new resolution.

The votes of Mike and Marty kept us from getting the cameras.

The lack of cameras is what caused the resolution to be altered to cover our asses.

Mike and Marty are DIRECTLY responsible for this mess.

Also, the Board retained the officers’ discretion to check immigration status of those detained for any purpose, even minor infractions. As a result of these actions, our police will be checking the immigration status of more people committing crimes in the County. I know that there was some confusion by other news sources concerning the effects of the Board’s action last evening, and I have been contacting those sources today asking them to correct their stories.

Do you still stand by your comments 2 days after the BOCS meeting?