Smith decries AG lawsuit, supports Merrillville
On Thursday, July 30, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita announced his office will pursue a lawsuit against the Town of Merrillville for its stated opposition to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) purchasing property in the town to create a new immigration detention center.
This comes after Rokita’s claims that the Merrillville Town Council’s recent resolution opposing the establishment of an ICE facility in a local warehouse violates Indiana law under Indiana Senate Enrolled Act 76.
SEA 76 prohibits local government entities from impeding ICE enforcement activities under penalty of legal action by the AG.
State Rep. Vernon G. Smith (D-Gary) released the following statement:
“This is yet another chapter in AG Rokita, Gov. Braun and the state legislature’s campaign to perpetuate racism in this state. The duty of the attorney general is to protect the interests of all entities in Indiana. If Rokita were really interested in doing so, he would have asked the Merrillville Town Council why they were opposed to the facility before slapping them with a cease and desist followed by a lawsuit.
“I voted against the legislation that gave the attorney general the power to sue local governments that don’t give ICE the keys to their towns and cities. But the fact of the matter is the Town of Merrillville hasn’t broken the law.
“The only thing Merrillville has done is listen to the will of the people. Polls show that the overwhelming majority of people don’t support ICE’s conduct. It is a lawmaker's duty to act on the desires of the people who elected them, not those of other politicians.
“I’m proud of our community for standing up against the attorney general’s overzealous interpretation of SEA 76, and I’ll continue to support them in that pursuit.”