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Indiana lawmakers pass bill blocking sanctuary college campuses

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – After some Indiana college students protested for sanctuary policies, Indiana lawmakers sent a strong message against it.

In November, students at IUPUI protested administrators to adopt a sanctuary policy. This happened days after President Trump won. During the campaign, and since taking office, he’s discussed deporting dangerous illegal immigrants out of the country.

In Indiana, lawmakers said they already have a policy blocking state agencies from imposing sanctuary policies. So, this session, they worked on legislation to include colleges and universities.

But Democrats worry about students who were brought to the United States as children. “The way I understand what we’re passing here today it will be illegal for our institutions of higher learning to do anything today to protect those children if the federal government shows up one day and says the laws changed,” State Sen. Tim Lanane (D-Anderson) said.

“If we can say that universities don’t have to follow it then we can say someone else doesn’t have to follow anything and then the law won’t mean anything,” State Sen. Michael Young (R-Indianapolis) said.

The bill required a second Senate vote because the House made changes. The Senate’s author accepted the changes, and presented the bill Tuesday.

The bill will now head to Governor Eric Holcomb’s desk. If he signs it, it’ll go into law this summer.

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