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Committee advances bill requiring local detention intake to notify ICE when arrestees may be unlawfully present; opponents warn of racial profiling
Summary
House Bill 1393 would require jail intake personnel to notify federal immigration authorities when an arrestee appears to be unlawfully present. The sponsor amended the bill to shift the notification responsibility away from officers on the street and to remove a mandatory holding requirement; the committee passed the amended bill 5–3 amid strong,
House Bill 1393 would require county and local detention facilities, during intake, to notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when officials have probable cause to believe an arrestee is unlawfully present in the United States. Representative Bascom, the sponsor, said the amendment he accepted shifts operational responsibility away from officers in the field and gives intake staff and jails the role of making and transmitting notifications. The amendment also removed a requirement in the original bill that would have compelled officers to arrest and bring people to jail in all applicable cases, restoring discretion in some situations.
Bascom told the committee the goal is to standardize cooperation with federal immigration authorities by placing notification duties with facilities that already collect identifying information during booking. “What this does is it takes a more passive statute that says you must cooperate, and it defines what that cooperation is,” Bascom said. He said the amended bill would not obligate jails to hold a person beyond ordinary custody practices and that bond schedules would still apply.
Opponents from immigrant‑advocacy groups, religious leaders, civil‑liberties organizations and local community groups warned the bill will increase racial profiling, erode trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities, and shift local resources toward immigration enforcement. Witnesses included Fatima Perry, representing community organizing and education in Spanish‑speaking communities; the Rev. Gray Lesane of Christ Church Cathedral; Chris Daley of the ACLU of Indiana; Alexander Mingus of the Indiana Catholic Conference; and Jennifer McKinney of Exodus Refugee Immigration. Sheriffs’ association representatives said local jails currently notify ICE when they determine an arrestee's immigration status and that practices vary across counties.
The committee discussed probable‑cause standards for identifying non‑citizens, the operational burden on county jails, the variable ICE response times, and the risk that summonsed defendants who are not processed through jail intake might not be captured by the notification requirement. After debate the committee advanced the amended bill on a recorded vote reported as 5–3.
