1. United States
2. Ind.
3. Letter

Dear Governor Braun, I am writing to put you on clear notice: if Senate Bill 76 reaches your desk, it must be vetoed. Indiana is witnessing a national breakdown in trust between the public and federal law enforcement. Recent, well-documented shootings of civilians by federal agents — including the disturbing incidents in Minneapolis — have shown exactly what happens when force is centralized, accountability is diluted, and political pressure overrides restraint. SB 76 moves Indiana decisively in the wrong direction. By mandating compliance with federal immigration detainers and threatening funding penalties for noncompliance, this bill forces local and state law enforcement into federally driven actions they do not control and cannot adequately oversee. It erodes local discretion, increases the likelihood of civilian harm, and exposes Indiana officers, counties, and taxpayers to legal, moral, and financial risk. This is not hypothetical. The pattern is already visible. Indiana should not be locking itself into a model of enforcement that: • Escalates encounters rather than de-escalating them • Transfers accountability upward while risk flows downward • Turns local police into instruments of federal political priorities • Undermines constitutional guardrails under the guise of “cooperation” Governors are remembered not for how efficiently they advanced legislation, but for where they drew the line. Vetoing SB 76 would not be radical. It would be prudent. It would affirm that Indiana values: • Local control over coercion • Public safety over political signaling • Constitutional limits over blind compliance If this bill passes the House, I urge you to reject it decisively and publicly. The moment demands restraint, not escalation. History does not look kindly on leaders who normalize authoritarian enforcement mechanisms because they were politically convenient at the time. Hoosiers are watching. We are documenting. And we will remember.