“Sanctuary policies are bad in any context, but they are especially troubling in our schools,” Roketta said in a statement.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Roketta has filed a lawsuit against Indianapolis Public Schools, claiming the state’s largest district is “failing” federal immigration enforcement actions.
According to Indiana Capital Chroniclestate law prohibits local government agencies, including school districts and police departments, from restricting cooperation or interfering with the activities of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal law enforcement agencies.
“No government agency in Indiana has the right to pick and choose which laws to follow,” Roketta said in a press release. “When a school district refuses to cooperate with ICE, it doesn’t just break the law — it puts students at risk, protects criminal aliens, and sends a dangerous message to every government agency in this state: This compliance is optional. Not on my watch.”
The lawsuit seeks an injunction to stop Indianapolis Public Schools from enforcing its allegedly illegal policies. In response, district officials called for a “safe, supportive, and welcoming learning environment for all students.”
“As always, we will continue to uphold the law while keeping those promises,” the district said.
Indianapolis Public Schools also took the opportunity to criticize Rokita’s priorities.
“While IPS takes all legal responsibilities seriously, we respectfully hope that all concerned parties recognize the heavy burden placed on students, families and taxpayers by silly litigation and political postings,” the district said in a statement. “Every dollar spent on defense legal currency is a dollar not spent on instructional support, teacher development, student services, or enrichment. In this case, Mr. Roketta has prioritized those dollars to go to fighting mundane political battles, as has often been the case.”
Indiana Capital Chronicle Notes that Indianapolis Public Schools policy prohibits employees from “collecting, maintaining or sharing the immigration status of students, their families and district staff unless legally required to do so.”
Rokita claims that these practices, among others, are illegal. He specifically criticized a policy that limits the ability of district employees to voluntarily cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
“Sanctuary policies are bad in any context, but they are especially troubling in our schools,” Roketta said in a statement.
“It’s important that Snow is able to take action when it comes to helping keep our kids safe,” Roketta said.
Rokita’s lawsuit said the district’s policies could also create problems for immigrants leaving the country, citing how IPS procedures allegedly led to one son attending school on the day of his father’s deportation flight.
The lawsuit alleges that “ICE faced significant obstacles from IPS policies and actions on January 8.
But Indianapolis Public Schools says that, when it received a series of letters from Roketta’s office in early October, it tried to cooperate — but wasn’t given enough time to provide the kind of documents the attorney general demanded to see.
“Unfortunately, despite taking six months to prepare his opinion on IPS policies, Mr. Rokita only allowed five business days from the time his review was conducted for IPS to respond, and then denied IPS’s request for any additional time,” the district said. “Nevertheless, these important issues deserve thoughtful, deliberate weighing of important legal rights — not contentious, superficial efforts for political gain.”
Sources
Indiana AG Sues Indianapolis Public Schools for ‘Failing’ Federal Immigration Enforcement
Rokita sued IPS to stop snow from schools. The district says the lawsuit is for ‘political gain’
