Attorney General Rokita threatens to sue West Lafayette

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita sent a letter Friday to West Lafayette and two other Indiana cities and Monroe County, threatening legal action by July 1 if those governmental entities refuse to rescind any “sanctuary city” policies. which they use had in place.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita hears from concerned citizens about the Economic Development Corp.'s LEAP project. in Indiana, at the Lafayette Army National Reserve Building, on Thursday, October 19, 2023.

In a statement, Rokita says these letters are in response to a law passed by the Indiana General Assembly earlier this year allowing the attorney general to bring lawsuits against any Indiana colleges, universities or local governments that fail to enforce current Indiana laws prohibiting “sanctuary cities.”

“The flood of illegal immigrants entering the United States is a problem that harms all of us,” Attorney General Rokita said in a statement. “The price for this lawlessness is paid by Hoosier taxpayers who must foot the increased costs of health care, education and other services that illegal immigrants rely on.

“A sanctuary city is a term used to describe a local governmental entity that has adopted a policy of willfully and willfully ignoring federal law and failing to cooperate with federal immigration authorities,” Rokita said in a news release issued Friday.

However, in reviewing West Lafayette’s legislative history, the city has never adopted a policy establishing itself as a sanctuary city. Instead, a resolution was adopted in 2017 that refrained from establishing this status.

The resolution noted that “local policies must not target communities based on perceived immigration status in order to support police-community relationships built over the years with the immigrant community, ensuring they have the freedom to report crimes as witnesses or victims.”

It is also important to note that no city employee or agency of the City of West Lafayette may request information, conduct investigations, or assist in the investigation of the citizenship or immigration status of any person unless a court order requires such inquiry or inquiry.

West Lafayette Mayor Erin Easter, asked for comment on Rokita’s July 1 threat of legal action, said the city is currently reviewing the attorney general’s letter with the city’s legal counsel.

The Journal and Courier also reached out to West Lafayette City Councilman David Sanders, one of the resolution’s original sponsors.

“Looking at what Todd Rokita is saying, there is absolutely no mention of any unwillingness to cooperate with federal authorities, which he says we have declared in our resolution. We don’t say anything like that,” Sanders said.

“We say that as a city we value all immigrants. We acknowledge that undocumented individuals have violated the immigration laws set forth in the preamble,” Sanders said. “But we are saying that the city itself will not ask about people’s immigration status.

“It’s not that we’re not cooperating with federal authorities,” he said. “We don’t say anything like that. We are simply saying that people’s immigration status is not something that we as a city should investigate and engage in discrimination against.”

In 2017, political discussions about immigration status were a topic that concerned international students and faculty across the country for their safety. Sanders noted that this was especially true for Purdue University students and faculty.

Due to the university’s proximity to West Lafayette, the city is and has been a city full of immigrant students and faculty. This, in turn, prompted city officials to approve the resolution in hopes of allaying the concerns of immigrant students and faculty.

It is unclear how the city will address Rokita’s threat. Sanders said that before they approved the resolution, the city solicitor had them review whether it violated Indiana code at the time.

Sanders believes Rokita’s threat is ultimately just “political theater.”