Bill to establish ICE grant program for local law enforcement agencies passes out of committee

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana House Veterans Affairs and Public Safety Committee passed a bill in a 12-1 vote on Tuesday that would incentivize local law enforcement agencies to work with ICE through its 287(g) program.

The program trains and deputizes local law enforcement to carry out some ICE functions within prisons and jails.

“These types of operations are going to be happening around the country, and I think our local law enforcement officials would benefit, our communities would benefit from training on how to handle those situations,” said State Rep. Chris Jeter (R-Fishers).

This comes after a similar bill died in committee that would have required all county law enforcement agencies to join the program.

Instead, this bill would require the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) to administer 287(g) program grants to interested agencies.

“We want to rise in support of this bill,” Mike Biberstine with the Indiana Sheriffs Association told the committee. “I think this bill creates a grant program that will allow those sheriffs’ offices who have interest in participating the avenue to do so without having to incur a bunch of local costs.”

However, some committee lawmakers expressed concerns that the bill’s fiscal impact on the state/local governments is unclear.

“There’s no specific number or amount that’s listed in the fiscal that defines what the cost of the program is,” said State Rep. Chuck Moseley (D-Portage).

A report from the Legislative Service Agency’s Office of Fiscal and Management Analysis reads in part:

“Participating agencies would experience an increase in workload and administrative costs…some or all of these costs could be covered by grants from the 287(g) Agreement Grant Program depending on rules adopted by IDHS.”

“I think the intent would be to get grant money from the federal government to do this, you know, kind of keeping in line with our federal government, and see what they want us to do,” said State Rep. Steve Bartels (R-Eckerty), the House Public Safety chairman.

A statement from Indiana Latino Democratic Caucus President Karla Lopez Owens reads in part:

“The INDLC strongly opposes Senate Bill 430, which would allocate state funding to local law enforcement agencies that choose to sign agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The bill is part of a broader effort to target immigrant communities in Indiana, led by lawmakers who’ve pushed anti-immigrant legislation for nearly two decades. We are deeply concerned that SB 430 would incentivize dangerous and discriminatory partnerships between local law enforcement and ICE – programs long known for racial profiling, constitutional violations, and costly lawsuits, as documented by the U.S. Department of Justice…”

The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office announced its intention to join the 287(g) program in January. It is the only Indiana law enforcement agency to sign up for the program since its launch in the late 90s.