By GARRETT BERGQUIST
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
The Trump administration’s border czar on Tuesday told state lawmakers they need to continue to expand Indiana’s role in immigration enforcement.
Tom Homan headlined an event for legislative Republicans in the House chamber in which Attorney General Todd Rokita and Gov. Mike Braun urged lawmakers to back a sweeping immigration enforcement bill when they convene for the regular session in January.
Marketed as the “Fairness Act” and again sponsored by State Rep. J.D. Prescott, R-Union City, the legislation would be similar to a bill that passed the House this spring but died in the Senate. It would penalize employers who knowingly employ or recruit someone who is in the country unlawfully, require the attorney general to defend any agency facing a civil lawsuit over enforcing immigration detainers, and require the state to collect detailed citizenship data on users of public assistance, such as Medicaid. Similar legislation passed the House last year but died in the Senate.
Rokita’s office sponsored the event, which was closed to both the public and the media. His office streamed the event on social media.
Homan told lawmakers more than 2 million people suspected of being in the country illegally have left in the first eight months of Trump’s second presidency, either through deportation or self-deportation. He said the vast majority of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees already have either prior criminal convictions or pending criminal charges or are subject to a final order of removal from a judge.
“We’re going to send a message to the whole world, it’s not OK to enter this country illegally, it’s a crime, it’s not OK to ignore a judge’s order and become a fugitive,” he said.
Indiana lawmakers this year passed a law to require sheriffs to notify immigration authorities if they believe someone in their jail is in the country illegally. The Indiana State Police and the Indiana Department of Correction have entered into 287(g) immigration enforcement agreements with ICE. In addition, this month, Indiana began housing ICE detainees at Indiana’s Miami Correctional Facility near Bunker Hill.
Homan urged state lawmakers to continue their own crackdown on immigration.
“Please help President Trump. I think it’s a great bill. Anything I can do to help, I got to watch what I do legislatively,” he said, referencing the federal Hatch Act, which restricts some political activities. “Whatever you can do in the state of Indiana, to help us make Indiana safer. I’m not saying every illegal alien is a public safety threat, but many are. Help us. Because every public safety threat that we remove from this country makes your neighborhoods safer.”
Homan’s visit drew a small group of protesters to the Statehouse, including Amy Guzman, a naturalized citizen who immigrated to the United States from Colombia. She told News 8 this is a traumatizing time for immigrants in this country.
“It feels like the act of a bully,” she said of Homan’s visit, noting Vice President JD Vance’s visit last week over mid-decade congressional redistricting. “It feels like, if we don’t comply with these things, then we’re going to start seeing more terror on our streets if we don’t comply with what Trump wants.”
Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, was one of the very few Democrats who attended Tuesday’s event, leaving early. DeLaney told News 8 ahead of the event immigration is a federal issue in which the state of Indiana has no business involving itself.
“The attorney general of the state apparently thinks we should have some kind of immigration, or perhaps more accurately, anti-immigration laws. That’s not our purview,” he said. “I think our attorney general and Mr. Homan should be busy trying to come up with a modern, coherent, and humane policy on immigration that helps build our businesses, helps build our country instead of running around and attacking people.”
Both Rokita and Braun’s offices turned down News 8’s request for comment, as did Republican lawmakers. Prescott turned down an on-camera interview but released a statement after the event and subsequent meetings with Homan and Chad Wolf, a former acting secretary of Homeland Security.
“Today’s discussion on immigration policy is about ensuring Indiana takes action when the federal government can’t,” said State Rep. J.D. Prescott, R-Union City, in the statement. “We must have fair, consistent enforcement that prioritizes public safety and supports our law enforcement officers who are doing their jobs every day. I’m proud to join Attorney General Todd Rokita, Gov. Mike Braun and national security experts Tom Homan and Chad Wolf in highlighting solutions that protect Hoosiers and uphold the rule of law. From legislation I’ve authored to improve communication with federal agencies, to new efforts ensuring dangerous individuals don’t slip through the cracks, Indiana is leading with strength and accountability.”
This story was originally published by WISH-TV at wishtv.com/news/politics/trump-administration-immigration-enforcement-indiana.
