Indiana lawmakers are finally stepping up to the plate on immigration, upgrading a bill that would require sheriffs to honor immigration detainers, force hospitals to identify illegal aliens using Medicaid, and punish employers who hire illegal labor. On Monday, State Rep. J.D. Prescott successfully amended Senate Bill 76 to include key enforcement measures from his House proposal known as the Fairness Act. The bill now heads to the full House for a vote and then back to the Senate for final approval. In other words, Indiana is done pretending this problem doesn’t exist.
Prescott said the goal is simple: partner with President Trump and border czar Tom Homan to help ICE remove illegal immigrants from the state and ensure businesses hire a legal workforce. He said Indiana should do everything it can to honor detainer requests and assist federal authorities in enforcing the law. A radical idea, apparently — following the law.
Despite having a Republican supermajority, Indiana has lagged behind other conservative states in mandating cooperation with federal immigration enforcement after former President Joe Biden’s open-border policies flooded the country with record numbers of illegal immigrants. Tom Homan even visited Indiana last October to support the Fairness Act after Republican Sen. Liz Brown blocked a similar proposal in spring 2025. Funny how a primary challenge suddenly made cooperation possible.
After getting a primary opponent, Brown sponsored SB76 this session and worked with Prescott to improve it. The upgraded bill strengthens Indiana’s ability to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, joining 18 other states that already require some level of law enforcement cooperation with ICE. Texas has done this since 2017. Georgia passed an anti-sanctuary city law in 2024, followed by Alabama, Arkansas, and Tennessee in 2025. Florida has required cooperation for years and is considered one of the strongest states on immigration enforcement.
Other Republican-led states are now considering similar measures. Tennessee is debating bills that would require E-Verify for large employers, force court employees to cooperate with ICE, make ignoring a deportation order a state crime, and require public institutions like schools and DMV offices to track and report immigration status. Florida held a special session in 2025 focused entirely on immigration enforcement. Apparently, states are realizing Washington can’t do everything — especially when Democrats refuse to.
Indiana’s situation is even more urgent because it borders sanctuary-state Illinois, which has banned cooperation with ICE since 2017 and has become a trafficking hub. Illinois ranks among the top 10 states for illegal immigrant populations. Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky also allow sanctuary jurisdictions, leaving Indiana surrounded by states rolling out the welcome mat.
Prescott’s amendments added data-collection requirements and a provision allowing the state attorney general to sue sheriffs who hide sanctuary policies by refusing to put them in writing. Those provisions were part of the Fairness Act and are now folded into SB76, creating a single, tougher bill. Officials from the Indiana attorney general’s office, the Department of Corrections, the governor’s administration, and the Sheriffs’ Association all testified in favor of the bill.
A spokesman for Republican Gov. Mike Braun said his office is working closely with Prescott to make sure the strongest possible immigration package reaches his desk for signature. Translation: this one’s meant to become law.
The America First Policy Institute, staffed by former Trump administration officials, says the states with the most 287(g) agreements are Florida, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, and Oklahoma. AFPI leaders, including former acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, have backed Indiana’s Fairness Act.
AFPI’s Cooper Smith said that because of massive illegal immigration, every state has become a border state and the urgency of removing criminal illegal aliens cannot be overstated. He added that Americans deserve safe communities and leaders who put citizens first, not foreign criminals.
Indiana is also considering measures to limit foreign adversaries from owning Hoosier land and restrict foreign students from sensitive national-security programs. Immigration was the top political issue for Indiana voters in 2024, and lawmakers are finally listening.
So while sanctuary states keep protecting criminals, Indiana is choosing law, order, and common sense. And with President Trump back in charge and states like Indiana lining up to help, the message is clear: enforcing immigration law is no longer optional. It’s happening — and it’s long overdue.
