The Republican state attorney, originally from Munster, claims in a letter recently sent to the common councils of East Chicago and Gary that their "Welcoming City" ordinances — which let immigrants in danger know they can seek assistance from the police without worrying about whether they'll be asked about their immigration status — violate Indiana's 2011 prohibition on sanctuary cities. It's not possible, however, for a local ordinance to legally supersede a state law. So if the East Chicago and Gary ordinances violate Indiana's sanctuary city ban they already are null and void.
The attorney general's office acknowledged Tuesday it has no evidence either city is refusing to comply with valid federal immigration enforcement orders or requests for federal-local cooperation on other immigration issues. But Rokita still intends to file suit under a new state law giving him sole authority to enforce the sanctuary city ban after Indiana courts found the citizen plaintiffs in prior lawsuits were not sufficiently aggrieved by the "Welcoming City" ordinances to have standing to sue. "The very existence of a 'Welcoming City' ordinance means the city is not complying with immigration laws.
We don't need additional evidence other than that. Our office's demand is for them to rescind their local ordinance," said Josh DeFonce, Rokita's media director. They may not need to, though.
In 2013, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 that Hammond did not have to repeal its ordinances regul.
