An Indiana immigration bill allowing local and state police to enforce federal immigration laws and for those officers to cooperate with ICE was amended Tuesday
Senate Bill 76, authored by State Sen. Liz Brown, states that the enforcement of federal immigration laws may be carried out by federal, state or local law enforcement. Under the bill, the department of correction will provide training to all sheriffs-elect on how to cooperate with the United States immigration and Customs Enforcement.
When the bill was heard on second reading by the House Tuesday, state representatives proposed 25 amendments to the bill. Six amendments passed and the remaining 19 amendments failed.
The bill was amended in the House Judiciary committee last week by State Rep. J.D. Prescott, R-Union City, to more closely align with the bill he proposed last year known as the FAIRNESS Act: Fostering and Advancing Immigration Reforms Necessary to Ensure Safety and Security. Attorney General Todd Rokita criticized Brown, R-Ft. Wayne, after the 2025 session for not advancing the FAIRNESS Act when it reached a Senate committee she chaired.
The bill allows the attorney general to sue a government agency, school or jail that doesn’t comply with federal immigration officials with a penalty of $10,000 for each violation. The amendment also states that a government body can’t be sued for complying with the bill.
If someone is detained under an immigration detainer request, the bill states that the governmental body should give the judge authority to either grant or deny the person’s release on bail as well as record in their file, comply with and inform the detainee of the immigration detainer request.
The bill prohibits an employer from recklessly or intentionally hiring or employing an undocumented immigrant and allows the Attorney General to sue employers who hire undocumented immigrants and report the person to the United States Department of Homeland Security.
Further, the bill requires the legislature to receive a report with data with the number of Hoosiers who aren’t citizens and are enrolled in or receiving benefits through the Indiana Residential Care Assistance Program, public assistance and welfare programs, family assistance services, Medicaid and Community Mental Health Services.
If a law enforcement officer, government body or educational institution is suedm the attorney general shall defend the party, the bill states. It also removes mens rea standard — or criminal intent — when it comes to governmental or educational institutions for violating the citizenship and immigration status information and enforcement of federal laws.
The bill allows the governor to withhold state grants or funding to a city that doesn’t comply with the law.
Prescott proposed an amendment to state that if an employer provides evidence of “reasonable diligence” to check an employee’s work eligibility then the employer hasn’t broken the law. The employer section was further amended to state that an employer should engage in “diligence to confirm work eligibility” of an employee.
The bill was amended to state that the legislature would like to receive the amount of money the state spent on undocumented immigrants receiving state benefits. Undocumented immigrants are already ineligible for most benefit programs. The only non-citizens who may qualify are lawful permanent residents, or Green card holders; asylees; and other legal residents under temporary protected status, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.
The bill was further amended to state law enforcement actions can’t violate federal or state laws.
The bill was amended to allow someone subjected to an immigration detainer request to challenge the immigration detainer request proving he or she was misidentified or that he or she has citizenship. Finally, the bill was amended to include Miami Correctional Facility Reporting requirements.
State Rep. Earl Harris, D-East Chicago, filed an amendment to remove a provision that would have penalized employers for having undocumented workers on their payroll.
“The employer provisions risk Indiana’s fiscal stability and long-term economic growth as a heavy manufacturing and agricultural state,” Harris said. “We need more robust discussion and vetting from our state’s biggest employers before we blow up the state’s industries.”
Prescott said the employer portions of the bill were examined by the Chamber of Commerce and Manufacturers Association to protect employers who follow proper hiring procedures but also hold employers accountable who are knowingly hiring undocumented immigrants.
The voice vote of the amendment was challenged as a division of the house and a vote count totaled 41-55. The amendment failed.
State Rep. Maureen Bauer, D-South Bend, proposed an amendment to ensure an agriculture employer wouldn’t be in violation of the law if an employee is in the process of applying for or transitioning to a federally authorized agricultural work visa. The amendment failed.
Bauer proposed another amendment based on a moment that occurred when the bill was being discussed in the House Judiciary committee. In committee, Ryan Neuhaus, formerly of the Heritage Foundation, said he supports the bill because immigration leads to the mixing of populations.
When Bauer asked him if that’s a bad thing, Neuhaus said of course.
Bauer proposed an amendment to state that a government body shouldn’t take action to prohibit, deny, restrict or interfere with the right to marry based on race, color, ethnicity or national origin.
“Members, you deserve the opportunity to do here what was not done in committee. To denounce those beliefs clearly and publicly,” Bauer said. “Those words are not abstract. They echo ideas this country has rejected before.”
The amendment was ruled out of order.
State Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, filed four amendments to ensure university and school police don’t have to enforce immigration laws. One of the amendments included hospital police officers. All four amendments failed.
DeLaney offered an amendment to state that if the Attorney General determines that probable cause exists that a governmental body or school has violated the law and notifies the governor, the governor should appoint an outside counsel to investigate the matter.
Rokita shouldn’t be “put in another messy situation,” DeLaney said.
“Talk about a conflict,” DeLaney said. “The poor man has enough ethical problems already without our passing a bill that imposes one on him. So help him out, will ya? Take him off of this responsibility. He can’t fulfill it legitimately.”
The amendment failed.
The bill moves forward for final consideration by the House.
