Gov. Mike Braun announced Friday he has greenlit ICE to use state law enforcement agencies to assist with immigration enforcement.
“Indiana is not a safe haven for illegal immigration,” he said in a news release. “Indiana will fully partner with federal immigration authorities as they enforce the most fundamental laws of our country.”
The federal agency now has agreements with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, Indiana State Police, Indiana Department of Correction, in addition to the Indiana National Guard.
The Indiana Department of Homeland Security has a 287(g) agreement allowing it to make arrests, issue legal detainers, hold immigrants in custody and operate in a joint ICE task force. Indiana State Police “have a similar agreement,” he said.
The Indiana Department of Correction also signed an agreement requiring personnel to “identify and deport” immigrants “arrested” and “booked” in state prisons.
Braun also directed the DOC to set aside up to 1,000 prison beds at the Miami Correctional Facility in north central Indiana for those arrested in the country illegally.
He said ICE would have a “further partnership” with the Indiana National Guard, although those details are not immediately clear.
U.S. National Guard units in 20 states, including Indiana, have been authorized to go to ICE facilities starting this month to help with paperwork processing, according to reports from the New York Times and the Intercept.
Braun has already approved ICE to use Camp Atterbury in north central Indiana as a “temporary” site to house arrested immigrants.
He signed an executive order shortly after taking office in January, promising he would direct state police agencies to cooperate with immigration enforcement.
Non-citizens charged with violent crimes have long faced deportation if convicted — a practice going back several U.S. administrations — particularly as the U.S. Congress expanded the list of deportable crimes in the mid-1990s. However, figures show the majority of those now being arrested have not been charged with other major crimes.
The latest ICE statistics show that as of June 29, there were 57,861 people detained by ICE, and 41,495 — 71.7% — of whom had no criminal convictions. That includes 14,318 people with pending criminal charges and 27,177 who are subject to immigration enforcement, but have no known criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, according to the Associated Press.
The Braun administration’s latest announcement comes as the tactics of ICE agents are coming under increased scrutiny nationwide as the Trump administration promised 3,000 arrests daily.
ProPublica, an national investigative journalism outlet, reported it tracked almost 50 incidents in the U.S. where agents busted out windows to drag immigrants from their vehicles during arrests.
A woman living in East Chicago also faces deportation after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security got a tip in November with her name and address, saying she was back after being deported, according to federal court filings. They subpoenaed her internet bill and property records three months later in February to get a judicial warrant, then arrested her inside her house in June.
Court records show aside from a 2010 OWI arrest, she had mostly lived quietly. An immigration lawyer criticized it as a waste of resources.
“The tip line is meant to receive reports of serious criminal activity. An old DUI does not seem to rise to this level and yet ICE chose to prioritize its resources to go after her,” Jennifer Ibañez Whitlock, the National Immigration Law Center’s senior policy counsel previously told the Post-Tribune.
