Special to the Recorder
“There is no doubt that immigration reform is an issue that we must address,” Congressman André Carson said in a statement on the Indiana Compact, which seeks to guide the debate on immigration reform in Indiana and advocates for the issue to be handled at the federal, not state, level. “But, the legislation we have seen in Arizona and what is being attempted here in Indiana is not the answer to this important issue and it will not solve the problem.”
The Compact has been proposed by the Alliance for Immigration Reform in Indiana, a group comprised of business, religious, nonprofit and education leaders.
Currently the Indiana General Assembly is holding hearings on a bill that is similar to the controversial immigration law in Arizona.
“If this ill-advised bill were approved, the negative impact on Hoosiers would be significant,” said Carson. “Indiana businesses would be negatively affected at a time when we cannot afford it. Instead of sending a welcoming message that Indiana is the place to conduct business, we will close the door to investments that will create much needed jobs. By shutting out others who use a different language, we are dissuading our young people from understanding other cultures in a time of global competition.
Carson stated that the bill is not what Hoosiers are about and it is not what America is about.
The Democratic representative believes that state legislators are feeling compelled to act because Congress has been unable to pass true reform.
Congress has taken steps by doubling the size of our Border Patrol and security task forces, he said, dispatching 1,200 National Guard troops and allocating more than $700 million in grants and resources to the southwest border.
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller, standing with a group of the state’s business, religion and education leaders, also came out against the Indiana Compact, a bill that is similar in nature to the controversial Arizona Immigration law, which the federal courts have put on hold.
Said Zoeller, “I am obliged to end the laws passed by the Indiana General Assembly, but I urge all legislators to consider carefully the appropriate role in our federal system of limited government.”
