The Senate Corrections and Criminal Law Committee heard Sen. Young’s SB 423 on enforcement of federal immigration laws. The bill expands, for purposes of provisions regarding enforcement of federal immigration laws by governmental bodies, the definition of “governmental body” to include state educational institutions in Indiana. The bill also defines “state educational institution”, for purposes of IC 5-2-18.2 as the term is defined in IC 21-7-13-32, prohibits postsecondary educational institutions with in-state campuses from restricting any governmental body’s efforts regarding obtaining, maintaining, or sharing information regarding the citizenship or immigration status of an individual, defines a “sanctuary policy”, provides that postsecondary educational institutions with campuses in Indiana may not adopt sanctuary policies, and exempts specified policies of postsecondary educational institutions pertaining to crime victims and witnesses to crimes from the definition of “sanctuary policy”.
The bill was amended to make technical corrections and specify that a postsecondary educational institution may grant an alien with valid Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status lawful presence or status on the institution’s campus. The American Association of University Professors, the Indiana Latino Higher Education Council, and the Indiana University Office of Government Relations testified on the bill. The amended bill passed 6-2.
Read the bill at http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2017/bills/senate/423