Source Link
Excerpt:
In a hearing on Wednesday, an attorney for a South Bend, Indiana sheriff argued the state attorney general can’t prosecute him for allegedly ignoring state law banning sanctuary cities.
The Saint Joseph County Police Department “has repeatedly released criminal aliens into the community” for at least a year, Assistant Chief Deputy Attorney General Blake Lanning told The Federalist. “That creates serious public safety risks.”
Rather than showing the police department is complying with state law by informing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of illegally present foreign criminals in their custody, Sheriff Bill Redman’s attorney argued Attorney General Todd Rokita has no legal authority to prosecute his agency for failing to comply. Redman lawyer Michael Smyth also argued that failing to cooperate with federal law enforcement does no injury to the state, a requirement for lawsuit standing, according to local news reports.
Recent polls rank illegal immigration as Hoosier voters’ no. 1 political concern, yet Indiana lawmakers declined to pass a robust immigration enforcement bill backed by the AG’s office this spring. Refusing to honor detainers is a typical component of sanctuary city policies. Local governments’ refusal to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement is a major contributor to the United States’s illegal immigration morass.