By John Byrne, Post-Tribune staff writer
INDIANAPOLIS -- A proposal to punish Indiana businesses for hiring illegal immigrants may not make it out of legislative committee.
Rep. Trent Van Haaften, D-Mount Vernon, would not say Wednesday whether he will allow the Public Policy Committee he chairs to vote on Senate Bill 335, which would terminate the license of a business found to knowingly hire illegal immigrants three times during a 10-year period.
Van Haaften said he has some problems with the bill's implementation, which he worries would be costly and applied unevenly in different areas of the state.
The bill received a lengthy debate Wednesday and its author, Sen. Mike Delph, insisted he remains optimistic.
The Attorney General's Office would enforce the new standards.
Business owners would need to run all prospective employees through a federal database to determine their immigration status before hiring them.
Greg Serbon, Lake County Director of the Indiana Federation for Immigration Reform and Enforcement, said Hoosiers are clamoring for immigration reform.
"People want something done about this," said Serbon, who testified in favor of the bill during the hearing.
But state Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon, D-Munster, said the state cannot adequately handle the added responsibility of trying to enforce federal immigration laws.
"I think this would amount to nothing more than window dressing," said Candelaria Reardon, a member of the Indiana Commission on Hispanic and Latino Affairs. "We have more pressing concerns right now."