Merrillville, IN Council Unanimously Tables Rescission of Anti-ICE-Detention Resolution, Defying AG Rokita's $10K Threat

In January 2026, the Merrillville Town Council passed Resolution 26-02 formally opposing any ICE detention facility within town limits. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita sent a cease-and-desist letter on June 24 threatening fines of up to $10,000 per violation and demanding rescission by July 15. On July 14, the council unanimously voted to table the rescission resolution, explicitly refusing to comply. Councilor Shawn Pettit: “We don’t need somebody coming into town and telling us how to do economic development.” The council passed the July 15 deadline without complying and is now waiting on Rokita’s response.

This is a state attorney general directly threatening a municipality with financial penalties for passing a resolution — not an ordinance with binding legal effect — opposing federal detention infrastructure, making it a test case for whether state AGs can use cease-and-desist threats to preempt purely symbolic local anti-detention resolutions, not just binding local law.