Indiana Immigration Laws: Licenses, Tuition, and Your Rights

Immigration laws in Indiana lean toward strict enforcement: the state bans sanctuary policies, requires E-Verify on public contracts, limits driver’s licenses and in-state tuition to people with lawful status, and criminalizes harboring or transporting unauthorized immigrants for profit. Those rules reach into hiring, driving, college, and any encounter with local police. What follows is what each rule actually requires, who it applies to, and where the exceptions sit.

Statewide Cooperation With Federal Immigration Enforcement

No city, county, law enforcement agency, or public university in Indiana may adopt a policy that limits sharing citizenship or immigration information with federal agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security.¹ Local entities also cannot pull back enforcement of federal immigration law below what federal law permits.²

The Attorney General is required to sue any local government or university found to be violating these rules, and a court that finds a knowing or intentional violation must issue an injunction ordering it to stop.³⁴ The practical effect is that every county operates under the same cooperation framework regardless of local politics.

That framework shows up most clearly in jails. When someone is arrested on state charges, ICE may lodge a detainer asking the jail to hold the person for up to 48 hours past their release time (excluding weekends and holidays) so federal agents can take custody.⁵ Federal courts have generally treated detainers as requests rather than mandatory orders, but Indiana’s anti-sanctuary statute strips the local discretion that exists in other states, so Indiana jails are far more likely to honor them.

Driver’s Licenses and State IDs

Indiana requires proof of lawful status for a driver’s license or state ID. Applicants provide either a valid Social Security number or, if ineligible, verification of identity and lawful presence.⁶ The BMV accepts a range of documents depending on your status:

U.S. citizens: an unexpired U.S. passport or passport card, an original or certified birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or a Certificate of Naturalization.
Lawful permanent residents: an unexpired Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551).
Other authorized non-citizens: an unexpired foreign passport with a valid U.S. visa and approved I-94, an unexpired Employment Authorization Card (Form I-766), proof of a pending asylum application (Form I-589), or an I-797 Notice of Action with other USCIS documentation.

You also need two documents proving Indiana residency.⁷ Indiana issues only Real ID-compliant credentials. There is no separate driver privilege card or limited-purpose license for people who cannot prove lawful presence, so driving without status is not a legal option here.

For non-citizens with temporary authorization, the license expiration date typically matches the end of the authorized stay. When status lapses, the credential becomes invalid, and keeping immigration documents current is the only way to keep the license valid.

Commercial Driver’s Licenses

Non-citizens seeking a CDL face tighter federal restrictions. Under a final rule effective March 2026, non-domiciled commercial learner’s permits and CDLs are limited to three employment-based visa categories: H-2A (temporary agricultural workers), H-2B (temporary non-agricultural workers), and E-2 (treaty investors). No other nonimmigrant status qualifies.⁸ If a holder’s status lapses, the state must downgrade the license within 30 days of notice from a federal agency. Lawful permanent residents apply for a standard CDL through the regular state process.

Working for a Public Contractor

Any business with a public contract for services or a public works contract with a state agency or political subdivision must enroll in E-Verify and run employment checks on all newly hired employees.⁹¹⁰ Contractors also sign an affidavit that they do not knowingly employ unauthorized workers. The requirement covers new hires, not the entire existing workforce.

If a contractor is caught employing unauthorized workers, the agency sends written notice and the contractor has 30 days to end the unauthorized employment or terminate the subcontract where the violation occurred.¹¹ Failure to fix the problem in time forces the agency to terminate for breach, and the contractor pays any extra costs to finish the work.¹² A subcontractor’s violation does not automatically become the general contractor’s, provided the general contractor terminates the subcontract after receiving notice.

If E-Verify Flags You

An E-Verify flag is called a tentative nonconfirmation, and it is not an automatic disqualification. The employer must give the employee a Further Action Notice within 10 federal working days, and the employee has 10 federal working days from the mismatch date to decide whether to contest. During that window, the employer cannot fire, suspend, delay training, or reduce pay based on the mismatch, and those protections stay in place until the result becomes a final nonconfirmation.¹³

If the employee chooses not to contest or misses the deadline, the employer may end the employment without civil or criminal liability. Mismatches happen for ordinary reasons: name changes, data entry errors, and recently updated immigration documents that haven’t synced with federal databases. Contesting is free.

Harboring and Transporting for Profit

Knowingly transporting an unauthorized immigrant for commercial advantage or personal financial gain is a misdemeanor in Indiana, and the charge becomes a felony when more than nine people are involved. The same penalty structure applies to concealing or sheltering an unauthorized immigrant for profit, and law enforcement must impound any vehicle used in either offense.¹⁴

The statute carves out broad exceptions. It does not apply to churches or religious organizations acting under First Amendment protections, healthcare providers delivering emergency or routine medical care, attorneys providing legal services, close family members, providers serving victims of domestic violence or human trafficking, or state and local government employees acting in their official capacity.¹⁴

Landlords have a specific defense. Collecting and keeping a copy of a valid, unexpired, apparently genuine driver’s license, state ID, U.S. birth certificate, military ID, or federal alien registration document before renting to a tenant serves as a legal defense against a harboring charge.¹⁴

In-State Tuition and Financial Aid

Indiana bars anyone not lawfully present in the United States from paying in-state tuition at a state educational institution. The only exception covers students already enrolled at an Indiana state institution on or before July 1, 2011.¹⁵ Without proof of lawful presence, you pay out-of-state rates, which run two to three times higher at Indiana’s public universities.

State-funded aid follows the same eligibility rule. The 21st Century Scholars program requires applicants to be U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens. Undocumented students and DACA recipients also do not qualify for federal student aid, which is limited to “eligible noncitizens”: permanent residents, refugees, asylees, conditional permanent residents, Cuban-Haitian entrants, T-visa holders, and certain paroled Ukrainian and Afghan nationals, among others.¹⁶ Citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau qualify for Pell Grants, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, and Federal Work-Study, but not federal student loans.

Professional Licenses

Federal law treats a professional license as a public benefit, so non-citizens who are not lawfully present are generally ineligible unless the state passes a law specifically allowing it.¹⁷ Indiana has not enacted such a law, so the federal default holds: lawful immigration status is required for a state professional license here.

Non-citizens with valid work authorization can apply for licenses, but healthcare workers face an added federal step. Nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, physician assistants, and medical technologists seeking U.S. admission for healthcare work must obtain certification from a USCIS-approved credentialing organization verifying comparable education and training, an unencumbered license, and English proficiency.¹⁸ Foreign nurses may alternatively present a certified statement from the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools or pass the NCLEX with a valid license in the state where they intend to work.

Filing Taxes

Immigration status does not exempt anyone from paying taxes on income earned in Indiana. Non-citizens who earn wages, run a business, or receive other taxable income must file federal and Indiana returns. People ineligible for a Social Security number apply for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number using IRS Form W-7.¹⁹ An ITIN is used only for tax purposes and does not confer work authorization or change immigration status. Filing on time matters regardless of status, because tax records can become relevant in visa renewals, status adjustments, and other immigration proceedings.

Your Rights If Police or ICE Stops You

Constitutional protections apply to everyone on U.S. soil, including people suspected of being in the country without authorization. The Fourth Amendment’s prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures binds both local police and federal immigration agents.

If you are stopped or contacted, you have the right to remain silent beyond providing basic identification, the right to refuse consent to a search of your home or belongings, and the right to speak with an attorney. Carrying valid identification at all times reduces the risk of prolonged detention during routine encounters. If you are arrested and booked into an Indiana jail, expect that any ICE detainer will be honored, because state law leaves local jails little room to decline.²

1
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 5-2-18.2-3 – Prohibited From Enacting or Implementing Restrictions on Taking Certain Actions Regarding Information of Citizenship or Immigration Status
2
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 5-2-18.2-4 – Prohibited From Limiting or Restricting Enforcement of Federal Immigration Laws
3
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 5-2-18.2-5 – Action to Compel
4
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 5-2-18.2-6 – Enjoin Violation
5
Congress.gov. Immigration Detainers: Background and Recent Legal Developments
6
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 9 Motor Vehicles 9-24-9-2
7
Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Real ID Documentation Checklist
8
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Non-Domiciled CDL 2026 Final Rule FAQs
9
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 22-5-1.7-11 – Contractors With Public Contract for Services Required to Use E-Verify Program
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Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 22-5-1.7-11.1 – Contractors With Public Works Contract Required to Use E-Verify Program
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Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 22-5-1.7-12 – Contractor and Subcontractor Prohibited From Knowingly Employing Unauthorized Alien
12
Justia. Indiana Code Title 22, Article 5, Chapter 1.7 – Public Contract for Services
13
E-Verify. Tentative Nonconfirmations (Mismatches)
14
Indiana General Assembly. Senate Enrolled Act 590
15
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 21-14-11-1 – Lawful Presence Required for Resident Tuition Rate
16
Federal Student Aid. Eligibility for Non-U.S. Citizens
17
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 U.S. Code 1621 – Aliens Who Are Not Qualified Aliens or Nonimmigrants Ineligible for State and Local Public Benefits
18
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Health Care Worker Certification
19
Internal Revenue Service. About Form W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number