Susan Smith has seen her words draw furrowed looks and even accusations of racism from those with a different view of how Nebraska should address illegal immigration.

But the founder of the Nebraskans Advisory Group also sees more positive responses to her Web postings, letters and testimony before policymakers.

She knows not every Nebraskan believes as she does that illegal immigrants are taking American jobs, taxing the health care, social services and educational systems and most importantly, amount to a huge national security threat.

Smith, however, is convinced most Nebraskans' beliefs are in line with hers.

And she believes this could be the year that state lawmakers take some major strides to make it harder for illegal immigrants to get jobs or collect welfare and other tax-funded benefits.

"We're going from a lawless state to a lawful state, and it's a huge relief," Smith said.

The legislation may have stirred hope in Smith and others on her side of an intense debate, but others say they fear the proposals could further divide communities and families and ultimately damage more than fix.

Two bills (LB95 and LB335) seek to ban companies from receiving tax breaks if they knowingly hired illegal immigrants. Another (LB34) would require all employers to check their employees' legal status once hired.

A fourth bill (LB403) is aimed at keeping public benefits such food assistance and unemployment payments from illegal immigrants.

And a resolution (LR9) seeks to encourage law enforcement agencies in Nebraska to join a federal program in which they train for and gain authorization to enforce federal immigration law.

Revenue Committee hearings on the tax-break bills are both set for Friday. Hearing dates for the other proposals haven't been set.

Lawmakers missed the mark, said Darcy Tromanhauser with the Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest.

Tromanhauser called the proposals divisive, unproductive and expensive. She also said they are missing the most crucial part -- a resolution urging federal policymakers to pass immigration reform.

"Until we reform the badly outdated system at the federal level, it doesn't make any sense to jump in with both feet at the state level," she said.

Tromanhauser is concerned about the cost of duplicating efforts to keep illegal immigrants from collecting tax-funded benefits -- alluding to a federal law that already bars illegal immigrants from receiving most state benefits.

She's surprised a lawmaker believes police, sheriffs or state troopers would want to don a second hat to enforce immigration law. Doing so could damage relationships they've worked to build, specifically within the Latino community. If people are distrustful of local law enforcement and swayed from reporting crime, that threatens the entire community, she said.

And she worries that mandating use of the federal E-Verify system, an Internet-based system used by about 100,000 employers nationwide to check employees' legal status, could stress the Social Security Administration to the breaking point. The administration jointly operates the system with the Department of Homeland Security.

Illegal immigrants are coming to Nebraska for jobs, many of them in meatpacking plants and the construction industry, said Doug Kagan with Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom. It makes sense to focus first on employment measures.

"Give them a disincentive for working here by using E-Verify, then that will solve a lot of the other problems like the pressure on our welfare system and education system," he said.

While some are looking at the proposals as bringing resolution, others fear the unintended consequences.

The measures, particularly the public benefits bill, have the potential to inspire discrimination and push people farther into the shadows, said Rob Dorton, an immigration attorney with Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska.

Dorton and other advocates for immigrants are heading into the session with a united front -- they say for the first time. Their network, the Nebraska Immigration Advocacy Alliance, has met monthly for the last six months to talk about issues affecting immigrants, including legislation.

"Nebraska seems to have come late to the game as far as the nastiest kind of rhetoric, and I think some of those things have started to bubble up here," he said.

He said the group is needed now, in part, because of that tension.

Smith has her own frustrations about inaction. That's what got her involved in the issue a few years ago.

But she argues it's not something Nebraska lawmakers can rest on.

She has her suggestions to strengthen the bills, including not giving employers until 2011 to begin checking the legal status of new hires. But Smith believes, for the most part, lawmakers are right on track.

"Now they understand this is not a race issue," she said. "We are protecting our communities and jobs."