The Merrillville Town Council won’t be rescinding its resolution opposing ICE detention and processing centers in town, despite a threat by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, because it maintains the resolutions falls under First Amendment protections.
Unlike ordinances, which have the force of law, resolutions are used to express policy or issue the council’s opinion on a subject, the town said in a Monday statement responding to a June 24 letter Rokita sent to the Town Council. Therefore, the town wasn’t outlawing the ICE centers but expressing its opinion as a body when it issued the resolution opposing them at its January 27 meeting.
The town can’t outlaw them even if they wanted to, Merrillville Town Attorney Joe Sventanoff previously told the Post-Tribune. If the Department of Homeland Security decides Merrillville is a preferred choice, there’s likely little the town can do to stop it because federal law would trump home rule in that instance.
“We are frankly surprised by the letter from the Indiana Attorney General as well as the timing of it. The Town Council passed Resolution No. 26-02 six months ago,” the statement said. “The Attorney General’s letter also comes as Merrillville leaders are actively managing one of the largest disaster recovery efforts in the town’s history following the June 11 confirmed EF2 tornado, which destroyed more than 200 buildings in Merrillville and damaged more than 160 others.
“We hope that the Indiana Attorney General agrees with us that this expression of the opinion of the Town Council of Merrillville, not having the force of law, but expressing its sense on a matter of great public import, is consistent with the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, Article I, Sec. 9 of the Indiana Constitution and not at all violative of (Indiana Code).”
Rokita, in a letter dated June 24, told the Merrillville Town Council that his office “has cause to believe that Merrillville has taken and continues to take actions to limit and restrict federal authorities’ ability to enforce federal immigration laws in violation of Indiana Code” because of the resolution. If it doesn’t, the Attorney General’s office “will undertake legal action to compel Merrillville’s compliance with state law,” he wrote.
“Since the Resolution was enacted, my office has received reports that indicate Merrillville has been making good on its promise to oppose and interfere with any attempt to create new federal immigration detention space within the Town. In particular, federal authorities have alerted my office of multiple instances in the past four months in which Merrillville officials have contacted individuals and entities involved in potential real estate transactions between ICE and Merrillville property owners to discourage the consummation of any transaction that could result in ICE acquiring real property within Merrillville,” Rokita wrote. “The Town’s actions have intimidated property owners, who reportedly fear reprisal from the Town, and resulted in the termination of multiple transactions through which ICE sought to acquire property for federal law enforcement purposes.”
“Any policy Merrillville implements, any resolution it enacts, and any other action it takes that have the purpose or effect of limiting or restricting federal immigration enforcement activities is therefore illegal under Indiana law … If you fail to provide a satisfactory response to this letter by July 15, 2026, I will exercise that authority and file suit against the Town of Merrillville.”
The AG’s office didn’t respond to the Post-Tribune’s request for comment.
A December 24, 2025 Washington Post article said the Trump administration “is seeking contractors to help it overhaul the United States’ immigrant detention system in a plan that includes renovating industrial warehouses to hold more than 80,000 immigrant detainees at a time.” Its plan, based on an unfinalized document the paper obtained, is to “speed up deportations by establishing a deliberate feeder system,” the Post-Tribune previously reported.
“Newly arrested detainees would be booked into processing sites for a few weeks before being funneled into one of seven large-scale warehouses holding 5,000 to 10,000 people each, where they would be staged for deportation,” the Washington Post article said. “The large warehouses would be located close to major logistics hubs in Virginia, Texas, Louisiana, Arizona, Georgia and Missouri. Sixteen smaller warehouses would hold up to 1,500 people each.”
Merrillville was listed as a likely spot for the smaller facilities in a graphic accompanying the article.
Councilman Shawn Pettit, D-6, read into the record at a February Council meeting a letter from Minnetonka, Minnesota-based Opus Group Vice President and General Counsel Shanna L. Strowbridge. The letter was a reply to a letter Sventanoff wrote to the company in January at the council’s behest about rumors DHS was setting up a processing center at a 278,000-square-foot warehouse at 8719 Mississippi St., the Post-Tribune previously reported.
“Opus, its board, and its leadership team earnestly value the relationship our company has with the municipalities and communities we serve. Maintaining those deep connections and our reputation as a world class, responsible real estate developer is one of our highest priorities,” Strowbridge said. “We also understand the reason for your inquiry in the position of the Town Council of the town of Merrillville. As an experienced attorney, we know you will appreciate that there are circumstances in which obligations of confidentiality limit parties in their ability to make public statements.
“While we would very much like to be helpful in our response to your request, any disclosure must comply with our ongoing legal obligation. Nonetheless, we can confirm that we are not under contract, nor are we in active negotiations concerning the sale or lease of our facility at 8719 Mississippi Street, Merrillville … with or involving any federal government agency.”
The letter reiterated the position a spokeswoman for Opus previously gave the Post-Tribune. The spokeswoman, Patty Gibbs, told the Post-Tribune via email that the building is still for lease.
“We can confirm that our Merrillville Industrial building is not under contract, does not have a transaction pending and remains available for sale or lease,” Gibbs said. “Consistent with historical business practices, Opus does not disclose details regarding prospective transactions.”
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
