Attorney general files suit against Monroe County

(The Center Square) – A second Indiana community is being taken to court by state Attorney General Todd Rokita.

He says Monroe County is violating a new state law mandating local officials work with federal agents to remove people living in or who have entered the country illegally. Rokita on Friday announced he’s seeking to compel the county to follow Senate Bill 181, a law passed earlier this year by the General Assembly that gives the attorney general’s office the power to force Indiana’s cities, counties and colleges to cooperate with officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The announcement comes after Rokita filed a similar complaint against East Chicago earlier in the week.

In May, East Chicago and Monroe County were among the communities to receive a letter from Rokita warning them about the new law. In essence, it seeks to nullify local ordinances and policies that prohibit city and county employees from working with ICE agents in relation to illegal immigration.

The seven-page filing in Monroe Circuit Court says Monroe County Sheriff Ruben Marte enacted a new policy on June 29 regarding the handling of immigration status issues. As Monroe County Attorney Jeff Cockerill described it to The Center Square earlier this week, the new policy requires Sheriff’s Office employees to not hold any person based on a “non-criminal/administrative ICE detainer.” Further, Marte’s office will not keep anyone in custody after their scheduled release date based on such a detainer.

“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,” Rokita said in a release. “Illegal immigration is unfair to those who came here the right way and to the hardworking Hoosiers who are bearing increased costs for health care, education and other services used by illegal aliens who shouldn’t be here.”

The Center Square was unsuccessful getting comment from Cockerill’s office.

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Monroe County is roughly an hour southwest of Indianapolis. Its county seat is Bloomington, home to Indiana University, and the city’s website bills itself as “an attractive progressive community.”

Rokita is up for reelection this year and has secured the Republican nomination. His campaign includes focusing on upholding residents’ safety and fighting “open border” policies.