After community members and city-county councilors spoke out, Mayor Joe Hogsett’s administration restored $100,000 in funding to Indy’s immigrant legal services fund in his proposed 2026 budget.
Andrew Merkley, director of the Office of Public Health and Safety, said during a Sept. 24 budget meeting that the fund will get the same amount of money as it did in the 2025 budget.
“We’re thankful to our community partners for bringing this to our awareness,” Merkley told members of the council’s Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee.
Councilor Jessica McCormick, a Democrat from the west side, was quick to respond: “If we could double that number next year, that would be even better,” she said.
The program, which receives joint support from the city and The Clowes Fund, gives money to legal organizations defending people in immigration proceedings, including bond hearings, asylum claims and deportations.
The city usually allocates about $300,000 to the fund each year, an OPHS spokesperson said in an Aug. 14 email. Mirror Indy first reported the proposed budget cut that month.
As the Trump administration continues mass deportations — bolstered by Indy’s own jail, which is holding detainees on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — advocates say obtaining legal representation is critical.
That’s why they fought back.
“With the increase in detentions, it’s just scary to think about not having those funds,” Wendy Catalán, a director at the Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance, told Mirror Indy. The organization appealed to councilors about the issue.
A spokesperson for OPHS did not immediately respond to questions about the funding’s restoration. Previously, the department said the cut to the program was part of its response to property tax cuts passed by Republicans in the state legislature.
Karla Lopez-Owens, the president of the Indiana Latino Democratic Caucus, thanked council members and OPHS for restoring the funding. But there’s more work to be done, she said, especially when many people cannot afford to hire an immigration attorney.
“These are crumbs,” Lopez-Owens told Mirror Indy after the budget meeting. “This is nothing compared to the need that exists.”
Data from the Vera Institute, a nonprofit focused on criminal justice reform, shows about 68% of people in Indiana’s immigration court have no legal representation — a number higher than the national average.
Despite ICE concerns, sheriff’s budget passes
At the same meeting, members of the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee approved the Marion County Sheriff’s Office budget with a 9-3 vote. The budget still needs approval from the full council.
Previously, some Democrats said they would withhold their support over Sheriff Kerry Forestal’s partnership with ICE. But only one, Councilor Crista Carlino, said she voted no for this reason.
Jail records through early September show nearly 800 people have been detained this year, with the sheriff’s office billing the federal government for about $1.2 million.
Dozens of community members criticized Forestal when he presented his office’s budget during a Sept. 3 committee hearing. The Democrat, who is in his last term, said he is upholding the law.
He cited Gov. Mike Braun’s executive order on immigration and a letter from Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, who threatened to sue local sheriffs if they do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Councilor Dan Boots, a Democrat who represents the north side, previously asked the sheriff to find a legal defense against Rokita.
“I don’t think it’s proper that one form of government attacks another,” he said before voting during the Sept. 24 meeting.
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Mirror Indy reporter Mary Claire Molloy covers health. Reach her at 317-721-7648 or email maryclaire.molloy@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @mcmolloy7.
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