A harsh-toned letter to Monroe County Sheriff Ruben Marté from Attorney General Todd Rokita demands the county rescind its written policy regarding detention of undocumented immigrants or face legal action.

If the policy isn’t off the jail’s books by July 1, the state will “compel (the county’s) compliance with Indiana law,” the letter states.

Upon receiving the May 14 letter, the sheriff embarked on researching the history of the jail’s current policy and the effects of a new state law proposed by District 44 Sen. Eric Koch, a Bedford Republican.

Signed by Gov. Eric Holcomb in March, it gives Rokita authority and legal footing to go after governments or universities that don’t comply with statutes requiring cooperation with federal immigration officials.

”The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office is currently engaged with the attorney general’s office to determine the underlying issues associated with Attorney General Rokita’s letter,” MCSO Chief Deputy Phil Parker said when asked about the matter.

The local Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policy, part of the Monroe County jail directives since 2014, was reviewed and approved by then-sheriff Brad Swain in 2018. It allows people in the country illegally, but with local ties, to be released from jail when charged with low-level crimes instead of held for federal immigration detention. Federal law allows 48-hour ICE holds.

Back in 2020, Swain said there was no written rule but instead a mutual understanding between local and federal officials about which inmates would be detained for ICE officials. Book-in fingerprints go into a nationwide database that allows ICE to know who’s been arrested.

Swain said then that he considered the arrested person’s local connections, criminal history and risk to the public when deciding whether to report the arrest to federal authorities.

Rokita maintains Monroe County Jail’s directive violates a federal statute prohibiting rules or policies that limit passing along citizenship information to immigration enforcement officials.

He also sent letters to city leaders in East Chicago, Gary and West Lafayette demanding confirmation local policies “that enable illegal immigration” have been rescinded in those cities. If not, they will “face swift legal consequences starting July 1.”

The tone in the Monroe County letter is somewhat threatening. “Unless the detainer directive has been rescinded on or before July 1, probable cause will exist to bring an action against the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office to compel its compliance with Indiana law – and I will do so.”

In a news release, Rokita said “the flood of illegal immigrants entering the United States is a problem that harms all of us. The ones paying the price for this lawlessness are Hoosier taxpayers, who must bear increased costs for health care, education and other services used by illegal immigrants.”

Contact H-T reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Rokita threatens legal action over Monroe County jail ICE policy