[JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Indiana [official website] on Tuesday dismissed [opinion, PDF] a challenge to parts of Indiana’s immigration law [SB 590 materials]. Union Benefica Mexicana [advocacy website] named the state of Indiana, the governor, the attorney general, three northwestern Indiana county prosecutors and three northwestern Indiana county sheriffs in the lawsuit. Judge Jon DeGuilio found that Union Benefica Mexicana had no legal standing to sue the sheriffs and that the other named defendants had sovereign immunity under the Eleventh Amendment [text]. The lawsuit challenged parts of Indiana’s immigration law allowing the state to sue employers to collect unemployment benefits from employers who knowingly employ unauthorized or illegal immigrants. The lawsuit also challenged sections of Indiana’s immigration law dictating that workers seeking day-laborer positions must complete individual attestation-of-employment forms.

Various reforms have been made to Indiana’s immigration law over the last few years. In March a judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of Indiana ruled [JURIST report] that portions of Indiana’s immigration law were unconstitutional. The American Civil Liberties Union challenged in the law [JURIST report] in May 2011. The legislation was approved [JURIST report] earlier that year.