Nebraska governor says citizens, legal residents will get vaccine priority over undocumented immigrants

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Wed, 2021-01-06 12:37 — mike kraft

Nebraska governor says citizens, legal residents will get vaccine priority over undocumented immigrants Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts's plan could brew mistrust and scare immigrants away from an immunization campaign meant to reach as many people as possible, advocates say. Teo Armus Washington Post

After briefing reporters Monday on plans to deliver coronavirus vaccines to Nebraska meatpacking plants, Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) was asked whether undocumented workers would be included.

“You’re supposed to be a legal resident of the country to be able to be working in those plants,” Ricketts replied. “So I do not expect that illegal immigrants will be part of the vaccine with that program.”

When his comments quickly went viral, stoking outrage from critics, Nebraska officials rushed to clarify. Immigrants would still qualify for the vaccine, one Ricketts aide said, but those without legal status would have to wait at the back of the line.

“Nebraska is going to prioritize citizens and legal residents ahead of illegal immigrants,” the governor’s communications director, Taylor Gage, wrote on Twitter on Monday.

That approach still angered many advocates, who argue it could brew mistrust and scare immigrants away from an immunization campaign meant to reach as many people in Nebraska as possible. Despite the remarks from Ricketts, hundreds of undocumented workers do in fact work in the crowded, high-risk facilities deemed essential to the nation’s food supply, they say. ...

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