Rokita threatens to sue West Lafayette police over immigration policy

West Lafayette among four Indiana communities accused by the attorney general Friday of violating a state ban on ‘sanctuary cities.’ Mayor: Rokita’s claims ‘under legal review.’ Read the letter here.

Todd Rokita (File photo)

Attorney General Todd Rokita is threatening to sue the West Lafayette Police Department over a section of policies dealing with immigration violations, accusing the city of sidestepping an Indiana law banning “sanctuary cities.”

In a letter sent Friday to West Lafayette Police Chief Troy Harris, Rokita accused the police department of harboring a policy that would prohibit officers from communicating or cooperating with federal officials on citizenship or immigration statuses or “restricting the enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws to less than the full extent permitted under federal law.”

Rokita sent similar letters Friday to officials in Gary, East Chicago and Monroe County. The Republican attorney general gave West Lafayette until June 14 to rescind the policy or “face swift legal consequences” as soon as July 1.