The man who advised Donald Trump to have Mexico pay for a border wall also advised legislators Tuesday of ways to crack down on illegal immigrants in Indiana.
Kris Kobach, Kansas secretary of state, has a history of creating anti-immigration legislation and was the first witness called Tuesday afternoon to address a Senate committee on immigration issues, headed by Sen. Mike Delph, R-29th District.
Delph heralded Kobach’s expertise, and said he was hopeful Kobach would offer insight for actions in Indiana.
“Immigration systems at home and abroad have been abused,” Delph said. “Mr. Kobach has had a long and successful career in the field. He has volunteered his time and talent at my request.”
Some of Kobach’s previous work includes drafting Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070, which had provisions overturned by the Supreme Court. He also authored a bill in Alabama prohibiting illegal immigrants from accessing public benefits and allowing law enforcement officers to question a person’s legal status during a stop or arrest with “reasonable suspicion.”
Alongside Dale Wilcox, CEO of the Immigration Reform Law Institute, Kobach provided context on federal and state immigration law nationwide, according to the meeting’s agenda.
Specifically, Kobach recommended businesses in Indiana be forced to use an e-verify system to confirm the legal status of all their employees or be stripped of their business licenses. He said he has already developed similar, successful legislation in Arizona.
“States are afforded the ability to leverage the business-licensing process as a means of enforcing immigration law,” Kobach said.
Discouraging businesses from employing illegal immigrants would leave more jobs open for citizens and potentially raise wages, Kobach said. Despite questions from committee members, he said he did not think this would damage Indiana’s economy.
“You’re insisting that this did not negatively affect the economy in other states where multiple companies openly admit to hiring illegal immigrants for labor?” Sen. Frank Mrvan, D-1st District, asked.
“There were transition periods, but ultimately they worked things out,” Kobach said.
Kobach also recommended Indiana enact more stringent proof-of-citizenship standards during voter registration, including the presentation of documents like a birth certificate or social security card. Since illegal immigrants do not have these documents, they would not be able to complete the registration process.
“You have a lot of aliens registering through errors because the law requires they be asked if they’d like to register to vote when they get a driver’s license,” Kobach said. “The truth is that every time a non-citizen votes, it effectively cancels out the vote of a citizen.”
Wilcox argued the issue of immigration is very much in the hands of the states because they bear the consequences of illegal immigration.
Wilcox said illegal immigrants are undermining the respective law, increasing unfair competitions for jobs, threatening national security and placing strains on schools and hospitals.
Delph said the committee wanted to hear from a range of voices on immigration issues to make informed recommendations about policy for the next legislative session. He said the committee was interested in the stories of naturalized immigrants and their experiences.
He did not express any specific interest in hearing about undocumented immigrants, who were at the core of all potential policies discussed.
The only person called to testify besides Kobach and Wilcox was a former Senate staffer who emigrated from Germany in the 1940s, who said she was offended by immigrants who try to subvert the laws to their benefit.
During the public comment section, Sen. Greg Taylor, D-33rd District, expressed his outrage as a legislator and Hoosier that the committee claiming to explore issues of immigration was made up entirely of white men. Taylor encouraged committee members to hear from people who would be affected by the legislation, including undocumented people.
“I’ve given eight years to this body, and every year I come over and over again trying to give the benefit of the doubt to this legislature, but being a minority, it’s tough,” Taylor said. “Today marks a tragedy in this body where five white men are making decisions about a group of people who are not represented.”
The only undocumented person to speak during the meeting was Guadalupe Pimentel, who was brought into the U.S. illegally when she was 7 years old. She shared her story with the committee — coming from a mixed-status family where her brother and mother are legal residents — and pleaded with them to learn about the realities of undocumented immigrants.
She spoke for less than three minutes.
Pimentel, who studies media and public affairs at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis, said it was emotionally draining to listen to legislators and citizens malign undocumented immigrants.
“It’s hard for them to humanize us when they never hear from us,” Pimentel said. “It’s hurtful because my brother fought in Afghanistan and got shot at 30 times a night, but they are saying we don’t contribute anything.”
Altogether, Pimentel said she was unsurprised by the talk dominating the committee and said she feels it bodes poorly for the next legislative session.
“I feel like the fact that they chose to start with Kobach and Wilcox really set the tone,” Pimentel said. “It’s very concerning, especially since they are bringing in people who don’t even live here and don’t know the community to make recommendations about what to do.”
