Rokita alleged in his lawsuit, filed and announced in January, that the sheriff upholds "sanctuary city" policies and has failed to honor detainer requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). His complaint states that ICE has designated St. Joseph County as a non-cooperative law enforcement agency. However, Sheriff Bill Redman has denied these accusations from the start, maintaining he and his department follow federal laws.

The fifth special judge appointed to this case, the Honorable Jenny Pitts Manier, granted the defense's motion to dismiss, essentially agreeing with their argument that the state has no standing to bring the suit and receive damages.

Her order did not specify whether the lawsuit is dismissed with or without prejudice, so it's unclear if the AG can bring the case to court again, but the office is moving forward with the appeals process regardless.

ABC57 received the following statement from the Office of the Attorney General:

"We recently filed an appeal of the dismissal of our lawsuit against Sheriff William Redman and the St. Joseph County Police Department. Our claims are strong and we will continue to seek legal remedy for the Sheriff’s clear violations of state law.

Sheriff Redman has called our lawsuit a 'legal circus' and taxpayer burden. That’s incorrect. Numerous illegal aliens have been released into St. Joseph County, jeopardizing public safety, because of his refusal to honor ICE detainers. That’s not speculation—that is a demonstrable fact shown by data we obtained from ICE and alleged in our complaint.  That is the real burden on taxpayers.

Ensuring that no jurisdiction in Indiana gives sanctuary to illegal aliens is a priority for Hoosiers, and we will continue to enforce Indiana law vigorously.

The judge dismissed our complaint on standing grounds, ruling that the Attorney General cannot bring suit to enforce a state law that the General Assembly expressly gave his office authority to enforce. That is a novel and incorrect legal conclusion that no other court in the state has reached. We fully expect to prevail on appeal."