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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Steele’s legislation to rid Indiana of illegal immigration
Punishes those that profit from employing below- market cost labor
(STATEHOUSE) — Sen. Brent Steele (R-Bedford) is one of the original authors of SB 335 which, if passed, will make Indiana one of the toughest states in the nation when it comes to the issue of illegal aliens. Steele’s bill targets the factors that draw illegal immigrants to this country by enacting criminal penalties for those who employ them.
Senate Bill 335 is modeled after laws in Arizona, Georgia, Arkansas and Oklahoma, Steele said.
“It is wrong when we create and foster an environment that causes people to crawl into vans and die of suffocation when left locked in the back in the middle of the desert or drown or die of thirst or be murdered while traveling on foot,” Steele said. “That sends a poor message to our children that it is OK to violate the law for profit.”
The bill prohibits any city or local government from passing an ordinance that would in essence make the city a sanctuary city. The bill further makes it illegal to employ an unauthorized alien and increases the penalties for second and subsequent offenses. Further it provides that the State of Indiana cannot contract with any company who employs illegal aliens and it further makes it a crime to harbor, transport, conceal or shield from detection any illegal alien.
Highlights of the bill include:
- Requiring the Superintendent of State Police to negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding with the federal government to assist with enforcement of federal immigration and customs law;
- Prohibiting a person from knowingly employing an unauthorized alien;
- Requiring the Attorney General to investigate complaints of violation of the law and local prosecutors to file actions against those who knowingly violate the law;
- Requiring a court to hold a hearing, make a determination and:
- Order the employer to terminate employment, sign an affidavit with court, be placed on probation for three years, order the suspension of all licenses to operate in the state of Indiana if perpetrator fails to sign an affidavit with the court (first violation);
- Revoke all licenses to operate in the State of Indiana if second offense occurs during probationary period (second violation).
- Prohibiting any unit of government, state or local, from entering into or continuing a public contract with a firm that employs an illegal alien;
- Requiring all hospitals to report total costs of care of the illegal alien population to the Indiana State Department of Health;
- Requiring employers to verify employment eligibility through the federal pilot program after Dec. 31, 2008; and
- Makes it a Class A Misdemeanor against those found guilty of transporting, shielding from detection, concealing, or harboring an illegal alien. Subsequent offenses would be a class D or C felony.
SB 335 will be heard in the Senate Committee on Pensions & Labor on Wednesday, January 16 at 9:00 a.m.
Steele serves Senate District 44, which includes Lawrence and Jackson counties as well as portions on Monroe, Orange and Washington counties.
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