(The Center Square) – Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita carried out a promise he made two months ago when he warned communities that have ordinances or policies that go against a recently passed state law regarding immigration.
Rokita sent letters in May to leaders in East Chicago, Gary and West Lafayette, as well as Monroe County, notifying them they needed to amend statutes or guidelines that he said encourage and welcome people who are living in or have entered the country illegally. Failure to do so by July 1 would result in legal action.
“We welcome want-to-be-patriots to the United States who will add value to our country and want to live their lives under the values this country was founded upon,” Rokita said in a May 31 statement. “The first way they can show that is by following our laws. Those who do not follow our laws by entering our country legally should not be allowed to stay.”
East Chicago became the first Indiana community to be challenged after Rokita filed suit in a Lake County court seeking to mandate the city comply with Senate Bill 181. The Indiana General Assembly passed the bill in March, and it took effect at the beginning of the month.
SB181 gives Rokita the power to force Indiana cities, counties and colleges to cooperate with federal immigration officials.
In the complaint, Rokita said the East Chicago Common Council passed an ordinance seven years ago that prevents city officials from requesting information or otherwise aiding an investigation into the citizenship or immigration status of any individual.
The complaint also says the ordinance only allows a city employee to work with a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent when they have a criminal warrant for someone the city has detained.
One city Rokita cited back in May has taken steps to comply with the new law. Last month, West Lafayette amended its police policies regarding immigration detainers.
Previously, the guidelines said no one “should be held based solely on a federal immigration detainer” except when that person faces federal charges or the detainer order comes with a warrant or similar documentation. The new policy says West Lafayette police officers shall transport a detainee to the Tippecanoe County Jail once the city receives “a completed and executed” detainer notice.
A spokesman for the attorney general’s office told The Center Square in a statement Thursday that “constructive conversations” were held with the West Lafayette Police Department in the wake of the new law.
“They were very cooperative, and we were satisfied with the changes they made to their policy, which is now consistent with state law,” the spokesman said.
Mayor Erin Easter, in a message to The Center Square, said West Lafayette was not like other communities Rokita cited earlier in the year. The city did not pass an ordinance. Rather, it “made a statement via resolution stating that we would be a welcoming place to all, and that we would follow all state and federal laws.”
The initial policy was somewhat ambiguous, the mayor said, which led to the state-accepted revision.
Monroe County Attorney Jeff Cockerill told The Center Square that the policies for the county Sheriff’s Office state its workers shall not hold anyone only on a non-criminal or administrative detainer issued by the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Further, the office shall not keep a person in custody “beyond their scheduled release date” based on such a detainer.
“There is no plan to change that policy,” Cockerill said.
In the East Chicago case, the city has until Aug. 1 to respond to Rokita’s complaint. Provided there’s no settlement between the state and city beforehand, the court’s timeline to issue a decision would be based on other pending filings.
The Center Square was unsuccessful getting comment from East Chicago Mayor Anthony Copeland.
