Nebraska Gov. Veto Overridden Again; Last State to Allow Undocumented Kids Driver’s Licenses

It’s been a tough week for Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts. First, on Wednesday, Ricketts lost a high profile standoff with the state legislature on the death penalty. Ricketts vetoed a Statehouse-backed ban on the death penalty only to have his veto overridden and the practice outlawed. Ricketts, however, was undeterred and vetoed a bill that would have allowed the children of undocumented immigrants to get state-issued driver’s licenses. On Thursday, the Nebraska Statehouse overruled the governor’s veto for the second time in two days.

The 34-to-10 vote in favor of overriding Rickett’s veto made Nebraska the final state in the country to allow children who are U.S. residents and have parents who are undocumented to get driver’s licenses. “Ricketts has said that those who arrived in the country illegally shouldn’t receive privileges intended for legal residents and said the bill would expand privileges to individuals beyond the youth covered under the program,” the Associated Press reports. “But senators who supported the bill argued the youth are active contributors to the state’s economy and should not be penalized for their parents’ actions.”