GOSHEN —
For Indiana State Sen. Mike Delph, the topic of immigration legislation in Indiana comes down to one simple philosophy: "If you have a law on the books, follow the law."
Delph, Republican author of the controversial Indiana immigration law Senate Bill 590, was in Goshen Wednesday afternoon to speak with Goshen Chamber of Commerce members and representatives on the origins and implications of the newly passed law.
In his early days as a state senator, Delph said he initially held the opinion that illegal immigration was an issue to be dealt with by the federal government.
"When I got elected to the legislature, this was not an issue that I campaigned on," Delph said. "This was not an issue that I even thought about much."
That outlook changed dramatically about five years ago, however, when a group of women living on the west side of Indianapolis came to Delph to share their concerns about what they felt was a growing illegal immigration problem in the area.
"When a group of little old ladies on the west side of Indianapolis came up to me and said ‘Sen. Delph, what are you going to do to solve the problem of illegal immigration?,’ you know what I said? ‘It’s a federal issue,’" Delph said. "You know what they said? ‘That’s the wrong answer.’"
After speaking more with the women and spending time in their west side neighborhood, Delph said he was inspired to initiate Indiana’s first real push into significant immigration reform — a push that would eventually lead to the signing of S.B. 590 by Gov. Mitch Daniels in May of this year.
Among the 30 provisions of S.B. 590 are:
• a mandate requiring all state agencies or political subdivisions to use the federal work authorization database E-Verify to verify the work eligibility status of employees hired after June 30, 2011;
• a requirement that all governing bodies of public agencies conduct all public meetings in English; and
• a requirement that all criminal and delinquent offenders be evaluated regarding their citizenship and immigration status.
Despite its passage, the law has not been without its opponents, one of the biggest of which happens to be the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and its affiliates concerned with what stricter immigration reform could mean for the state’s economy.
"The chamber of commerce freaked out," Delph said of the organization’s initial reaction to his legislation. "They couldn’t believe that I’d done this. They went crazy."
Delph said he has also received a significant amount of opposition from those with a particular philosophical, ethical or moral opposition to the country’s current immigration policy.
Highlighting the efforts of this particular camp, Delph noted a recent lawsuit initiated by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana and the National Immigration Law Center charging that S.B. 590 is unconstitutional.
"What we’ve done over the years with immigration reform is we’ve said it’s not practical, it’s unreasonable, it’s wrong, it doesn’t align with my morals or sense of values or my sense of humanity," Delph said. "In the end, it’s not about that. It’s about a right of a country and a people and a citizenry to have a rule of law, and to have that rule of law enforced."
Delph said it is still his opinion that if a law is on the books, it should be obeyed.
"If you have a law on the books, follow the law," Delph said. "If you don’t, you’re giving people, giving kids, the idea that they can pick and choose which laws they are going to follow, and which laws they are not."
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