The Indianapolis branch of the PSL condemns Governor Braun’s recently-announced “partnership agreements” for state and local law enforcement to further conspire with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Department of Corrections to target immigrant Hoosiers.
Braun is escalating the already-existing attack on immigrants, further alienating oppressed members of our class from our workplaces, schools, religious organizations, and public life in general. Braun’s spokesperson justified this escalation as an attempt to remove “criminal illegal immigrants,” which is a flagrant lie. The real purpose is to strike fear into our communities and allow for blanket racial profiling, harassment, and violence from the Indiana State police, Indiana Department of Homeland Security, and Indiana Department of Corrections.
Braun’s move emboldens the Trump administration and paves the way to dissolve our rights to dissent and free speech in Indiana. The allocation of beds in Miami Correctional Facility and Camp Atterbury and the heavily militarized federal and state agents invading our streets are threats to all Hoosiers. The capitalists have gutted the Healthy Indiana Plan, SNAP, and affordable housing options, and now they have set themselves up to exploit an unprecedented number of our community members using our tax dollars.
When immigrants arrive in Indiana, they face numerous obstacles imposed by the ruling class. They are denied access to housing, health care, and employment in some cases, even though they pay into those programs and services with their taxes. They are denied representation in government, subjected to extreme exploitation and slander, and terrorized through these racist and repressive tactics.
It’s a false notion that Democrats and Republicans want immigrants to “use the proper channels” to enter our country. There is no clear pathway to citizenship. Democrats and Republicans rely on immigration legislation as a carrot and stick issue in an attempt to to sway the masses and to divide our class against itself.
Only the people’s movement can meet the people’s needs
These “cooperation” agreements are antithetical to and far removed from the needs of the working class people in Indiana. This tactic of far-right billionaire agenda works to “flood the zone” with overwhelming coverage of their terrorist tactics, meant to demoralize those fighting for justice. It’s no coincidence that the war on immigrants is ramping up just as the administration and their right-wing allies in Congress are working to slash Medicaid and food stamps in order to pay for tax breaks for the rich and a massive increase in war spending.
The working class is international and immigrants have always been part of the working class in the U.S. The U.S. creates the very conditions that displace emigrants via coups, sanctions, war, and economic coercion. The only way to end this repression is by creating a system that welcomes immigrants, streamlines the naturalization process, and guarantees the basic needs of a home, healthcare, food, and education to every person, regardless of their citizenship status.
We demand an end to the raids, the detentions, the deportations, and the war on immigrants. We demand full rights for immigrants and call on workers in every community in Indiana to stand in solidarity with undocumented Hoosiers. It is our duty to protect each other against racist law enforcement, politicians, and organizations seeking to profit from the suffering of the working class.
Sign the petition to demand: ICE out of our communities! ¡Solo el pueblo salva al pueblo!
Featured image: ICE detaining a man in Los Angeles in June, 2025. Credit: DHSgov.