Indiana Attorney General targeting St. Joseph County as "Sanctuary City"

UPDATE: On Wednesday afternoon, the St. Jospeh County Police Department responded to the Indiana Attorney General's letter. 

Full statement from SJCPD:

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s office received a letter earlier this morning from the Attorney General’s office demanding it cease and desist use of any policy restricting employee communication with ICE. Coincidentally, the AG’s office sent out a press release at almost the same moment the Sheriff’s office received the letter, and as such the department has not yet fully reviewed the matter. The Sheriff will send the AG’s office a full response after fully reviewing the matter and before the November 8, 2024, date required for a response.

The AG's letter provided no support to the claim and it asked that the department only "confirm whether SJCPD maintains a policy" and "immediately discontinue any such policy." St. Joseph County does not have any such policy that "prohibits or restricts" actions or communications with ICE of any of the department's officers or jail staff. Nor does it have a “sanctuary city policy.” The department fully complies with federal and state laws and does not restrict the federal enforcement of federal immigration laws.

ORIGINAL: ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. -- On Wednesday morning, the Indiana Attorney General took to social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to inform his followers that he has sent letters to the sheriffs of St. Joseph and Lake Counties threatening legal action against any counties that "refuse to follow state laws."

"We are remaining vigilant against 'sanctuary cities' by warning local officials in Lake and St. Joseph counties that we will pursue legal action against them if they refuse to follow state laws," the Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said on social media.

Full letter to St. Joseph County Police Department Sheriff William Redman:

Dear Sheriff Redman,

I write concerning the St. Joseph County Police Department's (“SJCPD") compliance with Indiana Code § 5-2-18.2-1, et seq. The Office of the Attorney General ("OAG") has cause to believe that SJCPD has implemented and maintains a policy limiting its and its officers' cooperation with federal immigration authorities that is inconsistent with Indiana Code §§ 5-2-18.2-3, & 4. I ask that you confirm whether SJCPD maintains such a policy and, if it does, that SJCPD promptly discontinue it. If SJCPD fails to provide a satisfactory response to this inquiry, OAG will undertake legal action to compel SJCPD's compliance with state law.

According to a report prepared by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE”), SJCPD is designated by ICE as a non-cooperative law enforcement agency. That designation means that SJCPD does not provide notification to ICE prior to releasing noncitizens from custody and does not honor ICE detainer requests. Through communications with ICE, OAG has learned that SJCPD failed to honor 9 detainer requests in the period between March 1, 2024 and September 3, 2024. In some instances, the individuals who were the subjects of those detainers had committed crimes that pose direct threats to public safety.

Under Indiana Code § 5-2-18.2-3, it is unlawful for SJCPD to:

[I]mplement . . . a policy that prohibits or in any way restricts ... a law enforcement officer ... from taking the following actions with regard to information of the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of an individual: (1) Communicating or cooperating with federal officials. (2) Sending to or receiving information from the United States Department of Homeland Security. (3) Maintaining information. [or] (4) Exchanging information with another federal, state, or local government entity.

Likewise, Indiana Code § 5-2-18.2-4 makes it unlawful for SJCPD to "limit or restrict the enforcement of federal immigration laws to less than the full extent permitted by federal law."