An immigration law similar to Arizona’s that would force local police to question a person’s legal status in the country was passed by the majority Republican Senate in Indiana on Tuesday evening.
Five Republicans joined their Democratic colleagues and voted against Senate Bill 590, which passed by a 31 to 18 vote y. The bill also stipulates that most government documents and hearings must be conducted in English only.
The bill’s own sponsor, Republican state Sen. Mike Delph, was not present at the time of the vote since he was taking the bar exam to earn his law credentials. Among the arguments for the bill are that it can keep Indiana safe from the potential threat of terrorists coming in from the Mexican border, prevent the lowering of wages driven down by undocumented workers and keep non-US citizens from draining government services.
Opponents of the bill call it discriminatory and say it will lead to racial profiling. Others questioned the passing of it for the sole purpose of “sending” the federal government a message and raised the issue of burdening taxpayers with costly lawsuits from the government.
“If they don’t know how we feel about illegal immigration and that it should be stopped,” Tom Wyss, one of the Republican senators who voted against the bill, said, “I don’t know what we’re going to do that would make much of a difference.”
Democrat Sen. Tom Wyssalso voiced disproval of the measure and said it was hard to believe the Senate had even taken up such a law.
“It’s polarizing,” he said. “It’s discriminatory. It’s a federal issue. It’s not a state issue.”
The bill is now headed for the House of Representatives.
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