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Waterman: Illegal immigration bill moves to full Senate

State Senator John Waterman

      200 West Washington Street – Indianapolis, Indiana 46204

 

 

 

NEWS RELEASE                                                             1.23.08

 

Contact: Carrie Zapfe

317-232-7184

czapfe@iga.state.in.us

 

                                                                                                               

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                        

 

Waterman: Illegal Immigration Bill Moves to Full Senate

Senate Committee votes 10-1 to approve bill aimed at addressing

businesses that profit from below-market wages

 

(STATEHOUSE) – Members of the Senate Committee on Pensions and Labor voted 10-1 to approve Senate Bill 335, co-authored by Sen. John Waterman (R-Shelburn), aimed at addressing those who harbor, transport or employ illegal immigrants. The committee made several changes and making it workable, for business leaders said.

 

“Even though federal law prohibits illegal immigration, the federal government isn’t doing enough to protect our borders and stop the flow of illegal aliens into the United States,” Waterman said. “We are being forced to take action to protect Hoosiers and uphold the rule of law.”

 

SB 335 targets employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants in Indiana by allowing the attorney general’s office and local prosecutors to investigate written complaints of such practices. An employer is who is found to have violated the law would be punished based on a three-tier system:

1.       the employers first offense would be a warning;

2.       if they have a second offense in a ten-year span, the court could suspend their license to do business in Indiana; and

3.       if they then have a third offense in a ten-year span, the court could revoke their license to do business in Indiana.

 

Waterman’s bill includes language that provides immunity for businesses in Indiana who verify the status of their employees through the federal employment verification pilot program, E-Verify.

 

SB 335 also makes it a Class A misdemeanor for anyone who is found guilty of transporting, shielding from detection, concealing or harboring an illegal alien for commercial or financial gain. The bill provides exemptions for medical services, religious organizations, attorneys and the parent, spouse or children of the illegal immigrants.

SB 335 now moves to the full Senate for further consideration.

Waterman serves Senate District 39, which includes Clay, Greene, Knox, Daviess, Owen, Sullivan and Vigo Counties.

 

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For your convenience, a high-resolution photo of Senator Waterman is available at: http://www.in.gov/legislative/senate_republicans/newsroom/photo-gallery.html