By Marilyn Odendahl
The Indiana Citizen
July 12, 2024
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office filed a lawsuit Friday seeking to compel the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office to change its policy regarding immigration detainers but the county is indicating it has no plans to make any revisions.
The lawsuit – State of Indiana ex rel. Todd Rokita, attorney general of Indiana v. Ruben Marté, in his official capacity as Monroe County Sheriff and Monroe County Sheriff’s office – is the second one Rokita has filed since a new state law took effect on July 1, giving the attorney general’s office the power to enforce Indiana’s prohibition against sanctuary cities. On Tuesday, Rokita filed a lawsuit against the East Chicago Common Council, challenging its welcoming ordinance.
Rokita issued a statement announcing the Monroe County lawsuit and saying other municipalities could be sued for their immigration policies as well.
“Illegal immigration is unfair to those who came here the right way and to the hardworking Hoosiers who are bearing increased costs for health care, education and other services used by illegal aliens who shouldn’t be here,” Rokita said in his statement. “My office acted in East Chicago and Monroe County, but we are not stopping there. We will continue evaluating other local units of government and ensuring the law is followed.”
The lawsuit targets the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office policy related to immigration detainers issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Specifically, the policy prohibits sheriff employees from detaining individuals or holding individuals beyond their scheduled release date based solely on a non-criminal or administrative detainer from ICE, according to Justin Roddye, attorney with the Monroe County Legal Department.
By mid-morning Friday, the Monroe County Legal Department had not received a copy of the complaint, even though the attorney general’s office had released it a few hours earlier with a statement to the media.
However, the county indicated it would not be taking any steps to reverse the sheriff’s procedure for immigration detainers.
“There is no plan to change that policy,” Roddye said.
The attorney general’s office asserted in the lawsuit that the policy of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office prohibited or limited any voluntary cooperation with federal officials in enforcing immigration laws. Sheriff employees cannot detain, hold, or request the immigration or citizenship status of an individual, unless required by law, according to the lawsuit. Also, the employees cannot enter into any agreement with federal officials for enforcing immigration or citizenship violations, the lawsuit stated.
“(The sheriff’s policy’s) substantial restrictions on the ability of personnel of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office to cooperate with federal agencies or otherwise assist in the enforcement of federal immigration laws are clear violations of Indiana law,” the lawsuit asserted.
Prior to the lawsuit being filed, the complaint said, the attorney general’s office did have discussions with the sheriff’s office about the policy. In particular, the sheriff’s office had revised its procedures regarding immigration and citizenship status, but the attorney general’s office found the new policy still violated state law, the complaint said.
The lawsuit against Monroe County, like the one filed against East Chicago, cites to Indiana Code 5-2-18.2, which covers local governments and postsecondary educational institutions. Under the statute, municipalities and higher-ed institutions cannot bar communication and cooperation with federal officials about matters related to citizenship and immigrant status, and cannot restrict the enforcement of federal immigration law.
Indiana lawmakers amended the statute during the 2024 legislative session. Over the objections of Democrats, the Republican legislators approved a provision that empowers the attorney general’s office with the ability to compel compliance with the state law.
More than a month before the new law took effect, Rokita sent letters to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the West Lafayette Police Department and the common councils in the cities of Gary and East Chicago demanding they rescind their policies and ordinances that the attorney general said were violating the amended state statute.
West Lafayette is the only municipality of the four to have altered its policy in response to the attorney general’s letter.
The Lake County Superior Court docket does not show any motions or appearances filed by attorneys representing the East Chicago Common Council.
Dwight Adams, a freelance editor and writer based in Indianapolis, edited this article. He is a former content editor, copy editor and digital producer at The Indianapolis Star and IndyStar.com, and worked as a planner for other newspapers, including the Louisville Courier Journal.
The Indiana Citizen is a nonpartisan, nonprofit platform dedicated to increasing the number of informed and engaged Hoosier citizens. We are operated by the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity. For questions about the story, contact Marilyn Odendahl at marilyn.odendahl@indianacitizen.org.
