Indiana Upgrades Immigration Bill As States Step Up To Boost Deportation Efforts

On Monday Indiana lawmakers upgraded an immigration bill to require sheriffs to honor immigration detainers, require hospitals to identify illegal aliens using Medicaid, and penalize employers that hire illegal labor.

State Rep. J.D. Prescott successfully amended Senate Bill 76 in committee Monday to incorporate key measures of a stronger enforcement bill he proposed in the House, known as the Fairness Act. The bill now goes to the full state House for a vote and then back to the Senate to accept the amendments.

“The goal is to get this into a bill where the state of Indiana can partner with the Trump administration and Tom Homan … doing everything we can as a state to assist in those efforts to honor detainer requests, assist ICE in getting these illegal immigrants out of our state and country and make sure that employers are doing the right thing by only hiring a legal workforce,” Prescot told The Federalist in a phone call.