Todd Rokita sues Monroe County Sheriff, citing Indiana ban on sanctuary cities

Attorney General Todd Rokita has filed another lawsuit over Indiana’s ban on sanctuary cities, this time suing the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department.

A new law this year allows the attorney general to enforce the 2011 ban after the Indiana Supreme Court ruled that ordinary citizens had no standing in court to sue.

In a statement, Rokita says his office had “multiple conversations” with the Monroe County Sheriff’s office, urging it to rescind what the attorney general says is an “illegal policy.”

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According to the complaint, the policy in question said the sheriff’s department won’t enforce federal immigration laws unless required by law. The agency won’t ask people about their citizenship or immigration status unless necessary.

And the policy said the sheriff’s department won’t hold people in jail solely based on non-criminal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers.

Rokita sued East Chicago earlier this week over a city ordinance he said violates the state ban.

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