Indiana AG sues St. Joseph County Sheriff over immigration cooperation

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is suing St. Joseph County Sheriff Bill Redman, accusing the sheriff’s department of refusing to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

What we know:

Rokita announced the lawsuit Friday afternoon in South Bend, claiming the department failed to notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) about the release of undocumented immigrants and refused to honor ICE detainers.

 "This deliberate decision to not cooperate with federal immigration authorities is giving safe harbor to criminal aliens that need to be removed from our country and this county," said Rokita. 

In response, Redman said the attorney general has never spoken to him, adding that his department regularly communicates with ICE.

"We also remind the Attorney General that neither state or federal law require the sheriff or the jail to enforce federal immigration laws," the sheriff's statement reads in part. 

The backstory:

Earlier this week, a bill passed out of committee requiring law enforcement officers to notify their county sheriff if they arrest someone for a felony or misdemeanor and have probable cause to believe the person is in the U.S. illegally.

The bill is one of nearly a dozen filed in both chambers of the state legislature this year.

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