By Kassidy Arena , Nebraska Public Media News
Nebraska-As deportations take center stage nationally, Nebraska’s U.S. Representative for the second congressional district discussed what impact they could have locally.
Don Bacon said immigration enforcement needs to take a “balanced” approach to protect those who are contributing positively to the state.
“But folks who came here illegally as adults, the fact is, they did come here illegally and Americans, by and large, are fed up with it,” he said.
Bacon added he also supports expanding legal immigration and opening pathways for immigrants to earn U.S. citizenship or a legal status, including those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
“I would focus on the criminal element first and foremost; I do think the President’s willing, and I’m surely willing, to have a balanced approach,” he said. “I personally think people came here as kids, no fault of their own, and we should have a plan for them.”
Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, it’s estimated Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested more than 2,000 people, with 956 of those occurring on Sunday.
That outpaces the average daily rate under the previous Joe Biden administration in last fiscal year, which stood at around 310 daily arrests, according to numbers previously released by the agency.
Immigration enforcement efforts spread to Omaha this weekend. The Omaha Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration posted on social media it has been assisting the federal immigration enforcement in arrests.
Taxes, Jan. 6 and Executive Orders
Bacon said his goals while under this administration overlap nationally and locally. He said he wants an economy that will keep prices low as wages increase and an economy that dominates in the energy sector and devotes more funding to the military. Bacon reintroduced five bills that would lessen taxes for those who work two jobs or overtime, earn taxes, and for senior citizens.
“I think senior citizens, a lot, are struggling, so we’re taxing their social security. I don’t really like it,” he said. “There should be a certain floor that they’re not taxed at so that they don’t have to live in poverty.”
Locally, Bacon said he is looking to secure more federal funding to complete Eppley Airport in Omaha, Offutt AirForce base in Bellevue and a new VA inpatient care facility.
Earlier this week, Trump pardoned some 1,500 Jan. 6 rioters, which Bacon disagreed with, as he also disagreed with some of former President Joe Biden’s pardons. He specifically disagreed with the pardons of those who assaulted Capitol police officers.
“I try to be consistent. I don’t like hypocrisy,” he said. “I am not about just being from my side, but if my side is wrong, we should speak up. And I think in this case, you overstepped.”
Unlike Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who wants to further investigate the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol, Bacon added he does not feel strongly about it.
“I think we probably have vetted this thing about as good as you can, but there are some still open questions,” he said.
As far as the slew of executive orders from Trump, Bacon said he tends to agree with about 95% of them.
“I think a lot of them are very good,” he said. “I worry about a couple, but I think these things will pan out.”
He said an example includes Trump’s executive order which attempts to end birthright citizenship.
Facebook Comments