Indiana AG sues Merrillville, claims town officials illegally blocked ICE detention facility
Indiana AG sues Merrillville, claims town officials illegally blocked ICE detention facility
The Attorney General in Indiana is taking the Merrillville Town Council to court. Todd Rokita is accusing town officials of illegally blocking Homeland Security from buying and building an ICE detention facility.
MERRILLVILLE, Ind. - Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has filed what he calls the state's first enforcement action under Indiana's new FAIRNESS Act, accusing the Merrillville Town Council of illegally interfering with federal immigration enforcement by attempting to block a proposed ICE detention facility.
Indiana AG sues Merrillville Town Council
The backstory:
Rokita announced the lawsuit Thursday, which alleges town officials actively discouraged property owners from selling two warehouses on Mississippi Street to the Department of Homeland Security that were being considered for immigration detention operations. Rokita said Merrillville officials crossed the line from expressing opposition into unlawfully interfering with federal immigration efforts.
"We have officially filed a lawsuit against the Town Council of Merrillville over its illegal interference with federal immigration enforcement," Rokita announced during a Thursday news conference.
He said the federal government needs additional detention space as immigration enforcement continues under President Donald Trump's administration.
The lawsuit stems from months of public opposition after reports surfaced that Merrillville could become home to an ICE detention facility. During multiple Town Council meetings in January, residents urged elected leaders to stop the project. Some speakers told council members they feared the facility would change the character of the community, while others pleaded with officials to prevent it from moving forward. At a Jan. 13 meeting, Councilman Shawn Pettit also voiced his own concerns because one of the proposed warehouse sites is located near his home.
"I'm not looking out my deck and looking at that facility. I can guarantee you that," Pettit said during the meeting.
Two weeks later, the Merrillville Town Council unanimously approved Resolution 26-02, declaring the town "is not an appropriate municipality" for an ICE detainee processing facility and formally opposing the conversion of industrial warehouses for that purpose.
Lawsuit points to emails between town officials, property owners
While the public resolution is central to the lawsuit, Rokita argues the stronger evidence comes from private communications between town officials and warehouse owners. The complaint alleges council members and the town's attorney attempted to discourage property owners from doing business with DHS.
Among the evidence cited are emails obtained by FOX Chicago. One email from Pettit requested a formal written commitment from warehouse owner Opus stating it would not allow a detention facility in Merrillville.
"I am requesting a formal written commitment from Opus on their letterhead to commit to no detention facility in town," the email states.
The lawsuit also references communications involving a second warehouse owned by Tradelane.
In another email, Tradelane's CEO informed a real estate agent working with DHS that the company could not move forward because of the Town Council's opposition.
"DHS would have to get past this," the executive wrote, referring to the council's resolution.
Rokita alleges the council's actions ultimately caused at least two potential property sales to fall through.
"Merrillville's efforts to thwart the sale of properties to DHS and its agents are part of campaigns of pressure and intimidation against property owners," Rokita said.
He also said his office initially demanded the town rescind its resolution through a cease-and-desist letter. When that didn't happen, he said the state moved forward with litigation. Asked whether the lawsuit would have been filed based solely on the resolution, Rokita pointed to the emails as critical evidence.
"It's the veiled threat of an elected official who's got a vote to determine the value of that property in the future," Rokita said. "We have a strong case with these emails. We have a strong case with the resolution. The resolution is a lot stronger now with these emails."
He also said additional evidence has not yet been made public.
"We didn't allege all our evidence in the complaint," Rokita said. "There's more to come."
What's next:
Fox Chicago made several attempts for comment with Merrillville Town Council and the town's attorney, but our requests for comment were not answered.
Copies of the lawsuit were still not available Friday on Indiana's MyCase court case search.
The Source: The information in this article was reported by FOX Chicago's Bret Buganski.