Indiana Gov. Braun pledges support for Trump's immigration policy
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Republican Indiana Gov. Mike Braun. Photo illustration: Axios Visuals; Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun has directed state law enforcement agencies to "fully cooperate" with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is encouraging local agencies to do the same.
Why it matters: Just one week into his new administration, President Trump's campaign pledge to oversee mass deportations of immigrants is taking shape, with ICE arresting more than 3,500 individuals.
The big picture: Braun's pledge Tuesday to cooperate with Trump's immigration policy came several days after Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department chief Chris Bailey said the department would not participate in ICE raids and Indianapolis Public Schools said it would not allow ICE officers on school grounds without a warrant.
- "Local law enforcement … does not have the authority to enforce federal immigration laws," Bailey said in a statement posted to X.
State of play: Braun said his focus is on "the most egregious examples" of people in the state illegally who have committed crimes while here.
- "Indiana is going to be a state that is going to help get people that came in here illegally and then committed crimes and are dangerous back out of the country," he told reporters Tuesday.
- When asked if he supports going into schools and churches to look for people in the country unlawfully, he said, "No, because I'm not getting any directive from the federal government on that."
Yes, but: Indiana law already requires law enforcement officers to cooperate with ICE.
- Braun said that "in the few places that may not be abiding by the spirit of [the law], we're going to make sure they do."
- If communities continue to fail to cooperate with ICE, Braun said, he expects state Attorney General Todd Rokita to get involved.
- Rokita has already sued two counties for allegedly not cooperating with federal immigration law.
Reality check: Less than 1% of immigrants deported last fiscal year were kicked out of the U.S. for crimes other than immigration violations.
Zoom out: Indiana is more than 1,000 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, but immigration was a major campaign issue for Braun.
- He said Tuesday that he would extend former Gov. Eric Holcomb's order deploying the Indiana National Guard at the southern border.
What we're watching: Also on Tuesday, state lawmakers considered a bill that would require county sheriffs to partner with ICE in their jails.
- House Bill 1158 would require sheriffs to participate in ICE's 287(g) program, which trains officers and then allows them to perform certain functions of immigration enforcement within their jails.
- Though the program has existed for three decades and Indiana counties have always had the option to participate, Hamilton County became the first to opt in this year.
What they're saying: Robert Goldsmith, Tippecanoe County sheriff and president of the Indiana Sheriff's Association, said his community is already so nervous about a possible change in immigration policy enforcement that they're considering canceling their annual Latino Festival.
- "I don't see a reason to mandate a sheriff and tell them what they're going to do in the community they serve," Goldsmith told lawmakers during a Tuesday-morning hearing. "We have to answer to our citizens."
What's next: The House Local Government Committee did not vote on HB 1158 as lawmakers wait for state fiscal analysts to provide a better understanding of the costs it may have.