Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita Sues Monroe County Sheriff Over Immigration Detention Directive.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita filed a lawsuit on July 11 against Monroe County Sheriff Ruben Marté, challenging a county directive related to federal immigration detention. Rokita claims the directive violates an Indiana law that mandates cooperation with federal immigration officials.
In May, Rokita sent a letter to Sheriff Marté, threatening legal action if he did not receive confirmation by July 1 that the previous version of the policy had been rescinded. On June 29, Marté implemented a revised version of the policy, referred to as MCSO-12.
While the Indiana Daily Student could not locate the specific text of MCSO-12, Monroe County Attorney Justin Roddye told Indiana Public Media that the policy prohibits Monroe County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) employees from detaining individuals solely based on non-criminal or administrative ICE detainers. It also states that MCSO employees should not hold individuals beyond their scheduled release dates based on these ICE detainers.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to requests for comment.
Rokita’s lawsuit claims the directive violates a federal statute that bars states from enacting or implementing restrictions on actions related to information about citizenship or immigration status. This includes communication and cooperation with federal officials. The lawsuit seeks an order to compel Sheriff Marté and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office to comply with Indiana law.
A new state law, signed by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb in March, gives Rokita the authority to take legal action against government bodies and universities that do not comply with statutes requiring cooperation with federal immigration officials, effective July 1. The previous version of the Monroe County directive allowed the sheriff discretion to cooperate with federal immigration officials by detaining individuals on the basis of an immigration detainer after they become eligible for release under certain conditions. It also permitted the release of undocumented immigrants charged with low-level crimes without holding them for federal immigration officials. This policy had been part of Monroe County Jail directives since 2014 and was reviewed and re-approved by then-Sheriff Brad Swain in 2018.
In 2020, Sheriff Swain stated that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials would have access to fingerprint information collected by the department and could request Monroe County to hold a detainee for federal immigration officials for up to 48 hours. Swain assured that his administration would honor such requests and existing ICE flags on record, despite the lack of a signed agreement between ICE and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Rokita also filed a similar lawsuit against the City of East Chicago on July 9 over its 2017 “Welcoming City” ordinance, which designated it as a sanctuary city protecting undocumented immigrants from deportation. The lawsuit claims the ordinance violates Indiana law by restricting the enforcement of federal immigration laws to less than the full extent permitted by federal law. This action follows a letter Rokita sent to the city in May.
Despite Indiana law banning sanctuary cities since 2011, multiple courts, including a federal district court, have found similar bans unconstitutional. In 2020, a local immigrant advocacy group sought to prevent the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department from honoring federal immigration detainers, arguing that doing so violates Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure.
Rokita also sent letters to the cities of Gary and West Lafayette in May but has not yet taken legal action against either city.