Gov. Mike Braun says federal government should reimburse Indiana for its help to deport people

Gov. Mike Braun said he wants the federal government to reimburse Indiana for any costs related to state personnel helping enforce federal immigration laws.

The Indiana Department of Homeland Security, Indiana Department of Correction, state police and Indiana National Guard recently signed agreements to do more to help federal authorities deport people.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE arrests have surged since President Donald Trump took office. And recent federal data shows that one in four people arrested by ICE in Indiana in June had no criminal charge.

Braun has been critical of that, noting he wants to see undocumented immigrants with criminal records targeted for deportation first. But he said he has no concerns it will worsen as state officials play a bigger role in ICE arrests and deportations.

"You gotta get better at the process of differentiating between the two," Braun said. "And the fact is, that's not easy due to the dynamic of it — but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try better."

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Braun also emphasized that, when it comes to due process for people detained by state and federal authorities, he wants to ensure "we're doing that the right way."

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.