AG Rokita suing IPS over non-cooperation with ICE
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Indianapolis Public Schools is pushing back against Attorney General Todd Rokita's "silly litigation" and rhetoric that school officials say has left them "deeply offended."
Why it matters: Acting on behalf of the state, Rokita is suing Indiana's largest school district for policies he says make it hard for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to do their jobs.
Driving the news: Rokita filed his lawsuit with the Marion County courts late last week.
- He alleges that IPS is limiting ICE's access to school grounds and prohibiting IPS employees from assisting or sharing information with ICE.
Rokita says these policies are not only illegal but are also making schools "vulnerable to infiltration by criminal illegal aliens."
- "It's happened in many other states — and it is essential that ICE be able to take action when that occurs to help keep our kids safe," Rokita said in a news release.
The other side: IPS says it's doing just that — keeping kids safe.
- "Indianapolis Public Schools is committed to ensuring safe, supportive and welcoming learning environments for all students," the district said in a statement. "As has always been the case, we will continue to uphold the law while keeping these commitments."
- According to court documents, the district does not allow ICE officers inside school buildings without a warrant.
"While IPS takes all legal obligations seriously, we respectfully hope that all concerned parties will recognize the heavy burden that silly litigation and political posturing places on students, families and taxpayers," the district said. "Every dollar spent on defensive legal posture is a dollar not spent on instructional support, teacher development, student services or enrichment."
- "In this case, Mr. Rokita prefers those dollars go to fight gratuitous political battles, as has too often been the case."
Zoom in: The lawsuit stems from a January incident in which ICE was attempting to get an IPS student out of school to board a voluntary deportation flight with his father, a Honduran national who was in the country illegally.
- Rokita alleges that IPS instead connected the student with an immigration attorney and that the father and son missed their deportation flight.
- Rokita says ICE also needs school cooperation in looking for nearly 400,000 unaccompanied minors "who are vulnerable to exploitation by human traffickers" and when "criminal illegal aliens, like MS-13 gang members, infiltrate school locations."
Flashback: Previous ICE guidance that directed officers to avoid sensitive locations — including schools, hospitals, churches and marches — was scrapped by the Trump administration on his second day in office.
What's next: Rokita is asking the courts to compel IPS to change its policies to be in compliance with state laws that prohibit local government entities from limiting their employees' engagement in activities related to the enforcement of immigration laws.