Delph: No plans for additional laws targeting undocumented immigrants
etruth.com
by: Tim Vandenack
Posted: 8/24/2011 5:02:00 PM

GOSHEN - Indiana State Sen. Mike Delph isn't mulling additional legislation to crack down on illegal immigration, not yet anyway.

The controversial new law he authored, Senate Enrolled Act 590, went into effect less than two months ago, on July 1, and more time is needed to gauge its impact, said the Carmel Republican.

"We're going to wait and see what happens," Delph said this afternoon after an appearance before the Goshen Chamber of Commerce. "If there's a need for additional legislation, we're going to consider it."

Whatever the case, he said previous attempts at dealing with illegal immigration, notably a 1986 amnesty law enacted by President Ronald Reagan, have failed. "So I think we need to try a get-tough-with-enforcement approach," he said.

Delph, who was also to speak to an anti-illegal immigrant group in Goshen at 6:30 p.m. today, is perhaps the most visible and vocal state official calling for a crackdown on illegal immigration. He called Goshen - which has seen a sharp increase in its Hispanic population since the 1990s - "ground zero" in the immigration debate in Indiana.

Two provisions of SEA 590 are target of a pending lawsuit filed by the Indiana Civil Liberties Union.

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