EDITORIAL: Immigrant issues best left to feds

The IBJ

We appreciate the political expedience of joining a parade-or jumping in front of one-as Sen. Mike Delph did with his bill that plays on the growing public angst over illegal immigration. But laws motivated primarily by public fervor don't always result in good policy.

So it is with Delph's Senate Bill 335, which sailed through the Senate and now awaits a hearing in the House.

Delph's bill seeks to rid the state of employed illegal aliens by punishing businesses that knowingly hire them. If more than one violation is found in a 10-year period, a business can have its license to operate suspended. A third violation in the same period could essentially shut a business down.

We share the frustration many Hoosiers feel over the federal government's failure to secure our borders and come up with a plan to deal with illegal immigrants, but that doesn't mean we agree Indiana should take matters into its own hands.

As it is, state and local officials who become aware of violations report them to U.S. immigration officials. The cost of shifting enforcement to the state would be minimal at first but could become significant over time, according to a state analysis of the bill's fiscal impact. Rather than diverting time, attention and money to an issue that should be a function of the federal government, lawmakers here and in other states should continue to press Congress to act.

Making the business community the focal point of the enforcement effort is also misguided.

We agree with the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce that businesses shouldn't be the first defense against illegal immigrants. Forcing businesses to use unreliable federal databases to check the legal status of employees and job candidates adds another government mandate. And making businesses vulnerable to closure if those searches fail jeopardizes the livelihoods of business owners and those they legitimately employ.

Proponents of the bill should also reconsider the wisdom of a law that would focus on putting illegals out of work. Those who work and pay Social Security and other payroll taxes are the least of our problems. The bipartisan Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C., spouts plenty of dire warnings about illegal immigration, but it also notes that taxes collected from illegals result in a net benefit to federal Medicaid and Social Security programs.

There's no guarantee workers discovered to be illegal will be tracked down and deported. Those who become unemployed but stay here will become even more of a burden on law-abiding taxpayers.

Finally, we worry that such a law will back employers into a corner. Rather than risk fines or closure, some will inevitably turn their backs altogether on any job candidate, even legal ones, whose race raises questions.

Indiana should find a way to join the chorus of states asking the federal government to face up to the problem of illegal immigration. But it shouldn't do so by putting jobs and opportunity at risk.