Sanctuary City Battle in Indiana Heats Up

May 7, 2018

State enters fight to get alien criminals out of our communities

WASHINGTON—Today the State of Indiana joined the fight against lawless sanctuary cities by intervening in a lawsuit brought by the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) and The Bopp Law Firm. The suit seeks to overturn an ordinance that the City of Gary, Indiana, enacted to protect illegal aliens.

IRLI and The Bopp Law Firm challenged Gary’s ordinance last December, arguing that the ordinance violates an Indiana statute prohibiting governmental bodies in the state from refusing to cooperate with federal immigration law enforcement. This statute requires local jurisdictions to cooperate with such enforcement to the full extent contemplated in federal law.

Residents of Gary and other sanctuary cities are victimized by such unlawful non-cooperation policies. According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement estimates, roughly 2.1 million alien criminals are living in the U.S., over 1.9 million of whom are removable. Because of policies prohibiting state and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration officials, alien criminals get to stay in communities and commit more crimes.

“IRLI applauds the decision by Attorney General Curtis T. Hill, Jr., to protect Hoosiers from the dangers of sanctuary cities by intervening in this case,” said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. “Sheltering illegal aliens from immigration authorities not only flagrantly violates duly-enacted Indiana law, but represents a serious public safety and national security risk. With cities like Gary insisting on putting the interests of illegal aliens above their own citizenry, we appreciate the State stepping up to the plate to protect the interests of all Hoosiers.”

For additional information, contact: Brian Lonergan • 202-232-5590 • [email protected]