Attorney General Todd Rokita takes action against illegal immigration

Attorney General Todd Rokita today announced a multistate lawsuit seeking to stop the Biden administration from unlawfully granting special privileges to illegal immigrants. He made the announcement while in Texas, where he was gathering evidence for the next steps in Indiana’s efforts to combat illegal immigration.

“Every elected official has a constitutional duty to protect our liberties, and that is why I am taking action. The flood of illegal immigrants entering the U.S. is a problem that harms all of us,” Attorney General Rokita said. “The ones paying the price for this lawlessness are Hoosier taxpayers, who must bear increased costs for health care, education and other services used by illegal immigrants.”

Specifically, the lawsuit asks a U.S. district court to stop a program granting certain illegal aliens from El Salvador, Guatemala or Honduras the ability to petition the federal government to bring their minor children into the United States.

Beneficiaries under the “Central American Minors Program,” or “CAM” — which has never been approved by Congress — are not only permitted to enter and reside within the United States for a practically indefinite period, but their travel arrangements from their home countries are provided through taxpayer funds.

This is Attorney General Rokita’s second trip to the border in three months. Last fall, he visited several locations along the U.S.-Mexico border to get a firsthand look at the crisis. A video overview of that trip is available here.

“We welcome migrants to the United States who are grateful to be here and want to restart their lives under the values this country was founded upon,” Attorney General Rokita said. “The first way they can show that is by following our laws. Those who do not should not be allowed to stay.”

Attorney General Rokita has helped lead the fight against the Left’s soft coddling of illegal immigrants, such as when he led a 16-state coalition last August aimed at stopping President Joe Biden from shelving former President Donald Trump’s successful “Remain in Mexico” policy. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Attorney General Rokita and the coalition. Although the Biden administration continues its efforts to undo the Trump policy, the federal government in December submitted to the court ruling and resumed the “Remain in Mexico” policy for now.