Atty. Gen. Punished For Not Representing Illegal Aliens

The U.S. government is withholding a Nebraska public commission’s federal funding to punish the state’s attorney general for refusing to use taxpayer dollars to file lawsuits on behalf of illegal aliens who claimed housing discrimination.

Because Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning would not pursue cases on behalf of illegal immigrants, the state’s Equal Opportunity Commission lost $240,000 in annual funding from the government. The agency, with seven members appointed by the governor, investigates discrimination statewide.

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.

Bruning refused to take legal action, 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,” confirmed the attorney general. He added that those who are not citizens of this country are not going to get a free lawyer from his office.

The stance caused outrage among immigrant advocates, who are planning a lawsuit against the attorney general. 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.”