Thread: IN: this is war, need your comments please

War is going on over the Indiana bill. We need to flood the star with comments about this editorial. Don't bother to write and editorial of your own, the star does not seem to want to print any that are pro this bill. Please please help. I will get on my knees and beg if that is what it takes, this is VERY IMPORTANT TO ME.

State Sen. Mike Delph is a persistent guy.

The Carmel Republican's back with Senate Bill 580, which would make Indiana employers the police of illegal immigrants. The bill is similar to one that a "strange-bedfellows" coalition of business and social justice interests managed to stop late in last year's session.
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Delph may be persistent, but his bill has little chance to survive.

The senator had the element of surprise last year. That's why more than 50 groups, including the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, the Indiana Catholic Conference and the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, organized just after the session to respond in force to Delph's maneuverings.

The Alliance for Immigration Reform in Indiana has monitored the issue through an extensive summer study committee and will meet this afternoon to organize its four-part testimony in opposition to Delph's bill at the next Senate Pension and Labor Committee meeting Wednesday.

The coalition thinks illegal immigration's a problem, said Mike Leppert, a partner with the lobbying firm Corydon Group who is organizing next week's testimony. "Illegal immigration needs to be cleaned up," Leppert said. "We just don't think Indiana is the entity to do it."

There's the rub, philosophical and practical. Immigration is a federal issue. Compliance and violations ought to be policed by federal agencies. That's not happening.

Delph admits that frustration with the lack of federal action has prompted his efforts. His solution: Punish companies that don't do the federal government's job of finding and deporting illegal immigrants by suspending their licenses to do business.

Even if the proposal could withstand a certain legal challenge, there is no getting around the fact that it would require business to do government's job -- again. It's not exactly consistent with a limited-government, free-market point of view.

More companies are using the Electronic Employment Verification System to check whether a worker is legal.

"A legal work force is ethically the right thing to do," wrote Gary Jacobson, president of the Indiana Packers Corp. in Delphi. The pork producer has used E-verify since 1997 and likes it.

It's too bad government leans on good employers like Jacobson to do what it should be doing.

The Pension and Labor Committee chairman, Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, expects to change Delph's proposal before giving it a vote Feb. 18.

Although it's likely to clear the Senate, there is little enthusiasm for Delph's bill in the House, where none of the similar bills is moving this year.

This will test Delph's persistence. Maybe he can funnel some toward his bill to require even more disclosure of lobbyist activities.

Talk about organized opposition to an issue.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a ... 9902050461

Done

Okay, got you covered, cayla. I just put my comments in.

done!

Here's mine Cayla:

Didn't the Federal Govt. MANDATE emergency healthcare for IAs? Didn't they MANDATE education for IA children? Why then don't they MANDATE the 287(g) program and E-Verify? Could it be this 'Catch 22' was created on purpose? I THINK SO!

Thanks guys. This one is important to me. We escaped California, but can not afford another escape, I have to work to fix Indiana

OK doing it!!

Will do.

DONE and comment just came up....Registering is easy and you get an immediate response so you can sign in and post!!

Thank you everyone. We need to keep showing them that the people want this enforcement. The thugs were out in force today, this is not going to be easy, and I will admit, I am a little concerned that Delph withdrew his name from the bill. Immigration enforcement has been his baby for a long time. I am hoping to find out why he is dropping out.