Nebraska allows state licenses for thousands of immigrants

(AP) — Nebraska will allow thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children to work in at least 170 professions that require state licenses including health care and education after lawmakers overrode conservative Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts' veto of the measure on Wednesday.

Senators took the vote on the last day of their legislative session, five days after Ricketts called it unfair to immigrants who followed the legal pathway to citizenship.

Supporters touted the Nebraska plan as a way to fill jobs in a state with an unemployment rate of only 3 percent and a skilled worker shortage in fields such as manufacturing and nursing.

Ricketts referred to the proposal as an "amnesty bill" and tried to pressure lawmakers with press conferences, open letters and personal phone calls to senators.

The bill divided Republican lawmakers, pitting staunch opponents of illegal immigration against those who cast it as a business opportunity.

A new California law allows professional and commercial licenses for anyone with a taxpayer identification number, regardless of their immigration status.