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Know This Now, May 8, 2026: Victories for Dignity Act Cosponsors in Indiana Primary Election Show Bipartisan Immigration Solutions are a Winning Formula

By May 8, 2026May 10th, 2026No Comments

Victories for Dignity Act Cosponsors in Indiana Primary Election Show Bipartisan Immigration Solutions are a Winning Formula

Indiana voters reject anti-immigrant attacks and choose the common-sense, bipartisan roadmap for a stronger economy.

Indiana’s primary results provided a definitive answer to a key question for the 2026 midterms: can bipartisan immigration solutions survive a partisan primary? This week, two Republican cosponsors of the Dignity Act soundly defeated aggressive challengers who made opposition to the bill the centerpiece of their campaigns. Despite millions of dollars in attack ads, both incumbents secured landslide victories:

  • Congressman Jim Baird (IN-04): Re-elected to the ballot with 64.7% of the vote.
  • Congressman Marlin Stutzman (IN-03): Won his primary with 65.4% of the vote.

Even in competitive Republican primaries, a platform that balances border security with legal status for law-abiding, tax-paying immigrants is a political win. 

More commentary from the ABIC team:

The electorate chose a path that protects America’s workforce and addresses the labor shortages currently straining industries like construction, hospitality, healthcare, agriculture, and manufacturing, which could be a potential roadmap for Republicans heading into the midterms elections this fall.

More from the ABIC Network

ABIC Board Chairman for Deseret News: Utah Can Lead the Nation Toward a Brighter Future on Immigration

ABIC Board Chairman and former Arizona Republican State Senator Bob Worsley pens an op-ed in Utah’s largest newspaper making the case that Congress can secure the border and establish a path to legal status for long-term, law-abidding immigrants who are already contributing to America’s economy. To “resolve a reality we can no longer ignore,” Worsley outlines a framework where eligibility is made clear.

He writes that while border security is now largely addressed, the next challenge is hiding in plain sight: the 10 to 12 million undocumented people already here who are working, raising families, and contributing to the only country many of their children have ever known.

Senator Worsley proposes a modernized “Utah Compact 2.0” that prioritizes accountability, economic security and family unity, noting that the U.S. can protect American workers and businesses while ensuring that families no longer face the constant fear of separation.

News Briefing

The Hill: Senate GOP Unveils $72 Billion Funding Surge for ICE and Border Patrol through 2029

Senate Republicans have released legislative text for a $72 billion budget reconciliation bill designed to bypass opposition and fund a massive expansion of immigration enforcement. The proposal allocates unprecedented resources to enforcement agencies through fiscal year 2029:

The move signals a hardening of the “enforcement-only” strategy in Washington, even as local leaders and business advocates warn that such a narrow focus destabilizes the workforce.

Bloomberg: Immigration Crackdowns Harm U.S.-Born Workers, Fail to Raise Wages

A new paper released by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) shows that aggressive immigration enforcement tactics are backfiring on the very American workers they are intended to help. Researchers found that in industries heavily targeted by ICE enforcement, such as construction, agriculture, and manufacturing, the U.S.-born male workers saw a decline in work rather than an increase in employment opportunities.

The Wall Street Journal’s Potomac Watch recently highlighted the study’s finding that for every one ICE arrest, approximately six likely undocumented workers stop working, a ripple effect that the Journal describes as “economically counterproductive.”

Newsweek/NPR: White House Weighs Legal Status Compromise Amid New Promises of “Mass Deportations”

The administration appears to be operating on two tracks, quiet internal discussions about potential legal status for long-term residents and a loud, public commitment to historic mass deportations.

In a sit-down interview with CBS News, White House border czar Tom Homan confirmed that discussions are taking place within the administration regarding the legal status of some undocumented immigrants, including Dreamers. While Homan did not provide specific details on a potential compromise for law-abiding residents, the disclosure follows a period of “softer” messaging from the administration. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin has echoed this shift, stating the agency is purposefully trying to be “more quiet” about its activities to keep the department out of the headlines.

However, that “quiet” approach was nowhere to be found in Arizona this week. While speaking at the Border Security Expo in Phoenix, Homan delivered a much sharper message, promising that “mass deportations are coming” and telling the crowd that “no one’s off the table” regardless of how long they have lived in the country.

The scale of this surge is backed by unprecedented funding and personnel. DHS officials in Phoenix reported that the agency is “frontloading” its $191 billion budget to meet massive hiring goals, including 10,000 new ICE positions.

Spectrum News: N.Y. Dairy Farmers Push for Year-Round Labor Solutions

New York dairy farmers are calling for immigration reform, noting that the federal H-2A visa program only applies to seasonal work and does not fit the needs of year-round dairy operations. According to data from the National Center for Farmworker Health, over 70% of agricultural workers are immigrants, many of whom have worked on the same farms for 20 to 30 years. These long-term employees often serve in highly skilled management roles that are hard to fill with local labor.

The industry faces increasing instability as these essential workers are targeted for enforcement. Richard Stup of Cornell University reports that long-term employees have been detained while attempting to adjust their status at immigration offices. Agricultural experts argue that without a legal pathway for these workers, the stability of the food supply chain, from farm production to processing facilities, is at serious risk.

The Washington Post: Political Fallout in Idaho as Immigration Hardliner Faces Industry Retaliation

A rift within the Idaho Republican Party has turned personal for state Senator Glenneda Zuiderveld. The lawmaker, a member of a far-right bloc, has seen her household income slashed after local dairy owners severed ties with her husband’s business in response to her aggressive anti-immigration stance. This fallout illustrates a high-stakes collision between hardline ideology and the economic realities of Idaho’s Magic Valley, where the dairy industry relies on a workforce that is 90% foreign-born.

The industry views Zuiderveld’s push for mandatory E-Verify and mass deportations as an existential threat to Idaho’s agricultural economy. “We’ve seen Republicans openly hostile to farmers, which is extremely unusual,” said Rick Naerebout, CEO of the Idaho Dairymen’s Association. “This will be a potential tipping point for Idaho: Do we continue to shift further to the right, or do we moderate some? It feels very much like that’s what’s at stake for us, especially in agriculture.” As the May 19 primary approaches, the standoff serves as a litmus test for whether the party will continue its shift toward enforcement-only policies or moderate to protect its economic strongholds.

Perspectives 

The Washington Post: Senator Dick Durbin – The Bureaucratic War on Dreamers Hiding in Plain Sight

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) warns that while the administration claims to target only the “worst of the worst,” the reality is a quiet, bureaucratic gutting of the DACA program. Durbin highlights a “war of attrition” that uses processing delays and indefinite holds to strip hundreds of thousands of young people of their ability to work and live safely in the only country they call home.

As he prepares for retirement, Durbin has joined Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) to introduce the Dream Act one last time.

“These delays may seem like a minor bureaucratic change, but when a person’s DACA authorization expires, they lose their ability to work and their protection from deportation,” Durbin writes. He emphasizes uprooting these individuals.  , who include essential workers, inflicts unnecessary emotional and economic costs on the entire country.

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