http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/03/us/politics/03nebgov.htmlBut
even as the state enjoys relative economic health — unemployment, at 4.6 percent, is the third lowest in the nation — illegal immigration has taken a more central and more divisive place in the politics of communities like this one, visibly transformed by an influx of immigrant newcomers.
That shift in political dialogue has been propelled here by Gov. Dave Heineman — even before it was a national issue. Four years ago, Mr. Heineman,
a Republican, made his unyielding opposition to illegal immigration a central part of his underdog campaign for governor.“We’re just getting too many Hispanic people in town,” said Gerry Boller, 78, who works at the counter at New Beginnings Thrift Store on Main Avenue. “It seems like they come in and take over.”
Mike Meister, a Democrat who is running against Mr. Heineman, has strongly opposed the proposal (an Arizona-like immigration law), which he said was “clearly unconstitutional” and would waste money by forcing the state to fight an inevitable lawsuit. Mr. Meister, a lawyer who is trailing badly in the polls,
accused Mr. Heineman of using the proposal as a wedge issue. “He is pandering to the least common denominator,” Mr. Meister said. “Our fear of difference.”