On May 14, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita wrote a letter to Monroe County Sheriff Ruben Marté, demanding the county rescind its local U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement policy. Rokita warned that legal action would be taken against the county if the policy is not rescinded by July 1, in order to ensure compliance with Indiana law.
Since 2014, Monroe County has included a directive that permits the release of undocumented immigrants who have been charged with minor offenses and have connections to the county, without detaining them for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The policy was reviewed in 2018 and was approved to remain by former Sheriff Brad Swain.
According to the Herald-Times and Indiana Public Media, Swain announced in 2020 that his administration would continue to acknowledge an existing ICE flag on an individual’s record and respect a particular ICE request to detain them, regardless of whether they were arrested for minor offenses.
According to Swain, when a person is booked, their fingerprint information is collected by the department and entered into a database that is accessible by ICE. Federal immigration officials may then request Monroe County to hold a detainee until ICE officials arrive, with a federal limit of up to 48 hours. However, Swain clarified that there is no signed agreement between ICE and the Monroe County Sheriff’s department regarding detainments. He further added that holds on detainees are merely a courtesy. When deciding whether to detain someone for ICE, Swain considers the person’s personal connections to Monroe County, prior criminal history, and potential community security risk of release.
In his letter, Rokita argues that the directive goes against a federal statute that prohibits states from restricting the sharing of citizenship information with federal immigration officials.
Despite the department’s use of the ICE-accessible fingerprint database, the directive solely grants the Monroe County jail the option to release a detainee who would otherwise be eligible for release under state law, such as after an acquittal or posting of bond. However, it does not cover information sharing.
Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb signed a new state law in March that allows Rokita to take legal action against governments and universities that fail to comply with federal immigration officials’ statutes. Rokita referenced this law in his letter and has the authority and capacity to undertake legal action. The law will become effective on July 1.
According to a previous statement from Chief Deputy Phil Parker to Indiana Public Media, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department is currently working with the Attorney General’s office to investigate the issues raised in Attorney General Rokita’s letter. At this time, the department has not provided any further comment on the matter.
In addition to his actions against Bloomington, Rokita has also reached out to city officials in East Chicago, Gary, and West Lafayette with letters threatening legal action over their comparable policies.
On Monday, the Spierer family paid tribute to their daughter by sharing a statement on Facebook.
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