Thursday January 6, 2011 - Omaha World-Herald

LINCOLN — Madison County Sheriff Vern Hjorth has 15 deputies patrolling the roads of his mostly rural northeast Nebraska county, where about 1 in 11 residents are Hispanic.

Despite concerns about racial profiling and overburdening law officers, he said, his department is ready to begin checking if the people they pull over are illegal immigrants.

“I don't think it's going to be an overwhelming extra burden on us,” said Hjorth, 70, sheriff for the past 28 years. 

“Illegal is illegal — I don't care how you write it,” he said. “If it comes in the line as part of our work, we'll just deal with it.”

State Sen. Charlie Janssen of Fremont on Thursday introduced a Nebraska version of a controversial Arizona law that requires local police, deputies and state troopers to check the immigration status of people they stop.

Click here to continue reading on the Omaha World-Herald website.