Anti-Immigrant Bills (SB 76 & Others)

While two of these bills failed, language has been added into the progressing bill, SB 76.

SB 76: Immigration Matters, authored by Sen. Liz Brown, Sen. Chris Garten, Sen. Tyler Johnson
Status: Passed out of House - If the Senate concurs with changes, it goes to the governor's desk. If not, it goes to conference committee to seek approval, then the governor if committee members agree.
HB 1039: Various Immigration Matters, authored by Rep. J.D. Prescott
Status: Failed
SB 122: Various Immigration Matters, authored by Sen. Eric Koch, Sen. Chris Garten, Sen. Ryan Mishler
Status: Failed

SB 76, now the primary immigration bill still moving, combines language from the earlier bills and would expand immigration enforcement by tightening “sanctuary” restrictions, mandating stronger cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), blurring the lines of state and local enforcement, and escalating penalties for anyone who doesn’t comply.

The bill pushes public institutions (local police, government, and colleges) toward increased cooperation with federal immigration authorities. This includes written and unwritten policies, which means agencies could be penalized not only for official rules, but also informal day-to-day decisions seen as limiting ICE cooperation. It gives the attorney general broad authority to enforce compliance through injunctions, a $10,000 penalty per violation, and other relief deemed necessary for future compliance. The bill also clarifies that Indiana’s ban on limiting enforcement applies no matter what level of policing is involved (local, state, or federal), and it adds stronger enforcement tools

Local jails would also be forced to treat ICE detainers as mandatory holds rather than requests, meaning even U.S. citizens can still be held without a judge-signed warrant, raising serious Fourth Amendment concerns. Although detainees could challenge the hold under the amended language, this still risks wrongful detention and creates a permanent court record of the detainer. The bill also adds new jail requirements and oversight, including new detainer procedures, annual Department of Corrections (DOC) inspections, and escalating actions from the attorney general for noncompliance, including court action restricting the jail’s operations.

Beyond that, SB 76 also expands immigration surveillance practices in the workplace and beyond. It requires FSSA to annually report data on noncitizens receiving certain public benefits, effectively creating a new immigration enforcement data point. As amended, SB 76 also requires hospitals to report what form of ID Medicaid patients used at admission (e.g., state ID, out-of-state ID, foreign ID, no ID), further chilling lawful care. It also creates a new employer enforcement chapter, with attorney general investigations and tiered penalties that can escalate from corrective action reports to business license suspensions and even permanent revocation. It also encourages wider use of E-Verify, which is known to result in mismatched records. This could result in lost opportunities for people who are legally eligible to work and lead to increased discrimination.

We oppose SB 76 because it increases the risk of prolonged detention and due process violations, undermines trust in community government and agencies, targets immigrant Hoosiers in public institutions and even when receiving public benefits, and creates a high-stakes, likely discriminatory workplace enforcement scheme.