Bill would require checks on new workers' eligibility
January 24, 2010 by Jason Thomas | Star staff

State agencies, local governments and their contractors are the focus of proposed legislation to prevent immigrants who cannot verify their legal status from working — directly or indirectly — on the taxpayer dime.

Senate Bill 213, authored by Sen. Mike Delph, R-Carmel, would require state agencies, cities and counties to use a federal online system to check the eligibility status of all newly hired employees.

The bill also would require contractors doing business with the state, cities and counties to have a contract in place certifying they have verified the legal status of their employees.

The bill, which passed the Senate Pensions and Labor Committee last week, faces a hearing Tuesday with the Senate Appropriations Committee.

At issue is the long-standing debate over illegal immigration. Some estimates put Indiana’s population of those here illegally at more than 100,000.

It is Delph’s third attempt in three years to crack down on the number of people who enter the state illegally, most often in hope of a better life.

“It’s not about the worth of a human being,â€