LINCOLN — A Nebraska “guest worker permit” bill for undocumented immigrants drew support Monday from the bulk of public testifiers, while the biggest pushback came from Nebraska’s labor commissioner and the proposer’s fellow lawmakers.

State Sen. Dunixi Guereca of Omaha told the Legislature’s Business and Labor Committee that the Guest Worker Permit Act he introduced would set up a legal framework for undocumented immigrants to work in Nebraska — provided the federal government allows it.

He called LB 879 a “trigger law,” meaning that Nebraska would be ready to go if given the green light by the feds, but he said it would not bypass federal authority or grant a legal status.

State officials estimated Nebraska’s undocumented population at between 50,000 and 60,000 people, based on data from the Migration Policy Institute and the American Immigration Council.

“We need workers. Period. You can not dispute that — it’s stagnating the Nebraska economy,” Guereca said. “If the native population isn’t bringing more workers, we need immigration.”

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