Before their big election wins, Republicans promised mass deportations—and now, those promises may impact local police.
Indiana Senator-Elect Jim Banks is calling for city level police to support federal deportation efforts. In an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, Banks said “Local law enforcement is ready to go, to do what it takes.”
While several local police departments refused to speculate, South Bend Mayor James Mueller issued a statement that said, “While South Bend is a welcoming community, cities do not set our nation’s immigration policy under federal law. As the new Republican majority transitions from campaigning to governing, we hope that common sense and compassion will prevail because Hoosiers simply cannot afford further inflation from short-sighted policies like tariffs and mass deportations. Labor shortages from the loss of undocumented workers will significantly increase costs for Hoosier families and disrupt our growing economy.”
Professor Erin Corcoran of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs provided legal understanding of the situation. “Immigration law is federal and the enforcement of immigration law is federal,” Corcoran said. “The courts have been pretty clear, back into the 1800s that immigration and migration is a federal issue.”
Corcoran explained that federal agencies can request local assistance, but it’s not mandatory. She has concerns about the prospect. “The ability for them to be connected to the community and serve as a positive force,” Corcoran said, “I think is also going to be greatly diminished.”
