First lesson: Immigration is a federal issue
OUR OPINION

It long has been the view of The Tribune's Editorial Board that immigration is a federal issue first — one to be addressed in an effective, humane way by the U.S. Congress, and one that cannot be effectively or humanely undertaken by state or local governments. The longer that Congress delays and dodges this controversial topic, the more opportunity that state and local governments have had to prove the point.

Indiana's most recent effort at immigration legislation was by the 2008 General Assembly.

After a couple of efforts at compromises, a version of Senate Bill 335 very nearly ran the legislative gauntlet. Fortunately, it died in conference committee in the final days of the session.


SB 335 would have created a three-tier punishment system for companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants, with the goal, apparently, of making the state an inhospitable place for illegal immigrants.

Now lawmakers are trying something new: They're attempting to become better informed about illegal immigration in Indiana before undertaking yet another effort to restrict it.

A summer study committee, co-chaired by Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, and Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, is conducting Statehouse meetings on Tuesday and on Sept. 16. Pelath and Kruse said they hope to hold additional meetings around the state on the topic. We hope that they do. It isn't that easy for most people to get themselves to Indianapolis on a weekday, and the nature of the issue does vary from region to region.

One objective of the study committee, which seems reasonable to us, is to acquire some very basic information: how many illegal immigrants are in Indiana, where they live and what they are doing for a living.

It is notable that the General Assembly came very close earlier this year to enacting a punitive law — one that would have required state and local enforcement — without this knowledge. That fact aside, we hope that lawmakers aren't assuming that this study committee's findings necessarily will lead to yet another state enforcement bill. Its members will have an opportunity to learn instead that comprehensive federal immigration reform indeed must come first.

They might learn, too, that Indiana's most effective role in tackling this problem is as an advocate for federal reform.

No need to wait. State lawmakers, administrators and ordinary voters alike ought to begin demanding that every candidate for U.S. Congress take up the issue of immigration and make his or her views known. Immigration reform — federal immigration reform — ought to be a topic in every political debate this fall and at every town hall meeting.

The reformation of federal immigration law should meet at least four objectives:

Establish a secure documentation process that encourages otherwise law-abiding illegal immigrants to identify themselves.

Establish a way for immigrants who have submitted to the identification process to work legally.

Secure U.S. borders and enforce visa time limits.

Create an effective system so that employers cannot get away with hiring (and possibly exploiting) undocumented workers.

The fact that federal law does not adequately address immigration creates problems for states and communities that they cannot solve by themselves. State officials — and all of us — need to demand that our elected federal representatives step up and do their job.
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