Monroe County included on Homeland Security list for 'defying federal immigration law'

Monroe County is the only Indiana jurisdiction named on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s list of cities, counties and states that the agency believes obstruct enforcement of federal immigration law.

The list is a product of an executive order issued by President Trump. The order requires a published list of local jurisdictions that the administration believes “protect dangerous criminal aliens from facing consequences and put law enforcement in peril.”

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office is currently in a legal battle with state Attorney General Todd Rokita.

According to a lawsuit filed last summer, Rokita believes the language of Sheriff Ruben Marté's policy encourages officers to not cooperate with federal authorities such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also known as ICE.

Officers of the county sheriff’s office do not share or attempt to gain information about a detained person’s citizenship unless legally required.

“My office takes seriously our obligation to enforce the laws while respecting everyone’s constitutional rights,” Marté said last August. “Our Standard Operating Procedure does exactly that. We are prepared to defend vigorously the policy in court.”

Indiana law enforcement’s approach to federal immigration laws has been mixed.

Earlier this year, Indianapolis Metro Police Chief Chris Bailey said local police do not have the power to enforce federal immigration law and did not plan to assist in ICE operations. The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office announced in January that it would form an immigration commission to assist ICE.

Bloomington Exodus is a non-profit that helps refugees and parolees in the United States on legal, temporary protected status resettle. Exodus briefly closed its doors when rumors of ICE operations in Bloomington began to spread online.

WFIU/WTIU News has reached out to Monroe County’s legal department and Board of Commissioners for comment.