Indiana Attorney General taking legal action against Monroe County Sheriff’s Office over enforcement of immigration rules

MONROE COUNTY, Ind. — A new complaint filed by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita claims the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office is not properly enforcing federal immigration laws.

The complaint indicates MCSO and Sheriff Ruben Marte “violated Indiana law by implementing a policy which limits or restricts the enforcement of federal immigration laws to less than the full extent permitted by federal law.”

According to the complaint, the rule in question — MCSO-12 — was promulgated by Sheriff Marte on June 29. Rokita’s office claims the rule could “prohibit or limit voluntary cooperation by personnel of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office with federal officials in the enforcement of federal immigration laws.”

Per the complaint, MCSO-12 mandates deputies not engage in enforcement of immigration or citizenship status unless required to do so by law. The complaint also claims MCSO-12 prohibits deputies from attempting to gather information on the citizenship or immigration statuses of the individuals they interact with on the job, unless they are required to do so in the execution of their official duties.

Rokita’s complaint claims MCSO-12 restricts deputies’ ability to cooperate with federal agencies and assist in the enforcement of federal immigration laws. Such restriction is a violation of Indiana Code 5-2-18.2-3, according to the complaint.

Indiana Code 5-2-18.2-3 stipulates a governmental body may not enact regulations that restrict other agencies from taking certain actions with regard to information on the citizenship status of an individual.

The complaint also indicates MCSO-12 violates Indiana Code 5-2-18.2-4, which states governmental bodies may not limit or restrict the enforcement of federal immigration laws to less than the full extent permitted by federal law.

Rokita’s complaint alleges that, because MCSO-12 violates multiple Indiana Codes, it injures the State of Indiana “by violating the sovereignty of the State.”

Rokita’s office claims it has been in communication with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office about MCSO-12 since May 14. The complaint reports that Rokita sent Marte a letter to inform him that MCSO-12 does not meet certain rules required by state law.

In the letter, Rokita asked the sheriff’s office to rescind its policies that were inconsistent with state law.

According to the complaint, Marte responded to Rokita’s letter, indicating he intended to revise the policy. Upon review of the sheriff’s revisions, Rokita determined that the policy still violated state law.

The complaint concludes by requesting the court system issue an order that prohibits the sheriff’s office from violating any Indiana Codes via MCSO-12 or other departmental policies.

“After filing a lawsuit against East Chicago earlier this week, I am now taking similar action in Monroe County over an ‘Immigration and Citizenship Status’ policy, which we find also violates state law,” Rokita wrote in a prepared statement. “After multiple conversations with the sheriff’s office to rescind its illegal policy, it didn’t work, and now my office is taking the next step to enforce state law as passed by the General Assembly.”

Marte issued a response to Rokita’s complaint on Tuesday afternoon. In his response, Marte claimed Rokita’s complaint specifically challenges an aspect of MCSO-12 that indicates the sheriff’s office will not hold a person in detention based solely upon an administrative request from the federal government when that request is not supported by probable cause that a crime has been committed or a detention order from a judge.

In his rebuttal, Marte wrote that his office’s Standard Operating Procedure is crafted to comply with all applicable state and federal laws.

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

Per a release, the sheriff’s office will be represented by attorneys from the Monroe County Legal Department and the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center during its legal battle with Rokita.

As of this article’s publication, no additional information on the complaint’s status had been made available.