1. United States
2. Ind.
3. Letter

Dear Representative, I am writing to demand that you oppose and shut down Senate Bill 76 as it moves to the Indiana House. SB 76 is being advanced at a moment when the country is already reeling from documented federal law-enforcement shootings of civilians, including the recent, horrifying incidents in Minneapolis. Video evidence, conflicting official statements, and the aggressive federal response afterward have shattered public trust. Against that backdrop, SB 76 does not promote safety — it escalates risk, removes accountability, and invites abuse. This bill forces local and state law enforcement to comply with federal immigration detainers regardless of local judgment, community conditions, or constitutional concerns. It centralizes power upward, threatens funding retaliation for non-compliance, and turns Indiana officers into mandatory extensions of federal enforcement actions they do not control and cannot meaningfully oversee. That is not public safety. That is federalized policing by coercion. History — recent and distant — shows exactly where this path leads: • Reduced local accountability • Increased civilian harm • Politicized enforcement priorities • Law enforcement placed in impossible moral and legal positions • Communities treated as hostile territory rather than constituents Indiana should not be legislating obedience to federal force at a time when federal agencies are actively under scrutiny for lethal misconduct. Doing so is reckless. This bill also undermines the principle of local control, a value frequently invoked by its supporters when convenient — and discarded here when it interferes with centralized authority. The role of the Indiana House is not to rubber-stamp fear-driven legislation passed under national political pressure. Your role is to protect Hoosiers, uphold constitutional boundaries, and prevent laws that normalize authoritarian enforcement mechanisms. I urge you, unequivocally, to: • Vote NO on SB 76 • Refuse any amendments that preserve its coercive core • Publicly oppose the federalization of Indiana law enforcement The public is watching. We are documenting. And we will remember who chose restraint — and who chose escalation.