INDIANAPOLIS — A Senate committee tasked with reviewing the impact of immigration on Indiana was at times Tuesday more akin to a Donald Trump highlight reel than an analysis of the benefits and costs of new residents.
State Sen. Mike Delph, R-Carmel, chairman of the Senate Select Commission on Immigration Issues, set that tone right away by declaring the widely disavowed terms "illegal immigrant" and "illegal alien" would be used by the panel to describe individuals who entered the United States without legal permission.
"Should we call drug dealers undocumented pharmacists?" Delph asked. "We set a poor example by not holding lawbreakers accountable."
He then proceeded to tie immigrants to Indiana's methamphetamine crisis, the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, excessive government spending, the rise of ISIS in the Middle East, the loss of American sovereignty and declining respect for the law.
"The price of freedom is truly eternal vigilance," Delph said.
"We not only have a right to know who is in our country, and for what purpose, we (also) have a duty to know — to protect ourselves, our families and our neighbors from the next event."
Aiding Delph in his crusade were Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a Republican, and Dale Wilcox, an attorney formerly of Terre Haute.
Together they urged Hoosier lawmakers to require all businesses in the state use a federal database to confirm the legal status of their employees. Businesses that continue hiring undocumented workers would be forced to shut down.
Earlier this year, the Delph-sponsored Senate Bill 285 would have done just that, but it did not advance in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Delph admitted he does not know how many people may be unlawfully employed in Indiana.
Wilcox and Kobach, who inadvertently called the state "Louisiana," also said Hoosiers should have to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote, and the General Assembly ought to deny all funds to any locality that refuses to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
State Sen. Frank Mrvan, D-Hammond, questioned why Republicans want to subject Indiana businesses to new regulations and whether they could even survive, especially in agriculture, if immigration laws were strictly enforced.
"We've waited too long to do anything about immigration," Mrvan said. "The economy would be just destroyed."
Senate Democratic Leader Tim Lanane, D-Anderson, saw other forces motivating the unprecedented use of a Senate select committee.
"We've dealt with immigration issues in the past. It cost us a lot of time, effort and money, and portions of the law were struck down in court," Lanane said. "This is all about politics, and it's all about the time of the year this is going on."
Delph insisted he will oversee a fair and thorough review of Indiana's immigration issues during five more meetings in the next seven months.