It’s not an exaggeration to say the southern border and immigration are top of mind for most Hoosiers. Due to a frustrating lack of leadership in Washington, D.C., the issue has festered for years and has become a protracted thorn in our side.
The obvious concerns pertain to security — we don’t know who is coming into our country and why, and we don’t know whether some mean us harm. By now, many have heard about the deadly opioid fentanyl, which is 50 times stronger than heroin. The Indiana State Police report fentanyl is now the second most common drug they test, and cases have quadrupled in the last six years.
It’s no coincidence this surge coincides with the record-breaking number of illegal border crossings we’ve seen under the Biden administration. Indiana has worked too hard for too long fighting the opioid epidemic to see our efforts squandered by a lack of border security.
Another incredibly frustrating aspect of this, to me, is a lack of adherence to the Rule of Law. Indiana is most certainly being impacted by this.
Despite the significance of this problem, one is right to question what role Indiana can or should play in immigration policy that is rightfully a national issue in almost every respect. Regardless, there are a couple of steps we have taken that make sense for Hoosiers.
Senate Bill 181, authored by State Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, would reinforce our state’s policy against sanctuary cities, which are localities that limit or deny cooperation with federal immigration authorities in enforcing immigration laws. I was pleased to support that bill as it passed out of the Senate last month.
Additionally, you may have read that Gov. Eric Holcomb recently announced he is sending 50 National Guardsmen to the border to help Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Because our federal government has failed to properly secure our border, Texas finds itself dealing with this issue without proper support, so it is the right thing to do for us to provide assistance.
In conversations leading up to this announcement, I indicated my complete support and pledged to refill the line item in our state budget in next year’s budget session so we are assured our National Guard troops are funded, supported and able to serve us if the need arises again — as it most certainly will.
Typically, the federal government would fund the cost of our National Guard providing this service. In fact, the federal government just did that from October 2022-2023 when we had troops on the border. Unfortunately, at a time when those border issues are now at their worst, the federal government is unwilling to fund those costs, so Indiana will do so.
While illegal immigration is undoubtedly an issue that should be handled in Washington, D.C., it has an impact here in Indiana that justifies these actions. It is a worthwhile endeavor to have our troops giving us eyes and ears on the ground to help us understand this issue that is having such a profound impact on us.
If we follow our Rule of Law, immigration needs to be about the workforce. The United States and Indiana are welcoming to those who want to bring their skills and work ethic to our industries. They come seeking the freedom and opportunity we so much enjoy, and our nation needs and deserves a policy that welcomes them to our country legally while holding the line on the pervasive drug trafficking that threatens our citizens’ safety and well-being.
Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, represents Senate District 37, which includes Morgan County and portions of Johnson, Owen and Putnam counties. Send comments to [email protected].
