EVANSVILLE – On Wednesday, Evansville and Vanderburgh County police were criticized online for not helping with raids and removal operations by federal immigration officials. On Thursday, they said that they “do not have the authority to enforce laws based on immigration status alone.”

Sheriff Noah Robinson said that using local police for these kinds of raids could hurt the public’s trust and make people afraid to report crimes for fear of being deported.

ICE, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement, came into the city on Tuesday to supposedly round up people who are living here without papers. It was reported by The Courier & Press that at least one person was being held.

In a joint news statement early that afternoon, the Evansville Police Department and the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office said that ICE would be there.

“While we support ICE’s legal work, the Evansville Police Department and the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office did not assist in this operation and do not take part in general immigration enforcement, except when someone has committed a crime that has nothing to do with their immigration status,” the release said.

That’s what EPD put on its Facebook page. A lot of people who commented said that the cops should “do their job.” On Wednesday, Sgt. Anthony Aussieker, a spokeswoman for the EPD, told the Courier & Press that it is not at all the job of local police to take part in immigration raids.

He said, “We need a state or local charge to make an arrest.” “There must be a violation of an Indiana law for us to be acting in line with our sworn affirmation.”

At the same time, VCSO wrote a long post on its own Facebook page on Tuesday night after getting “an influx of questions regarding the appropriate role of local law enforcement in matters related to illegal immigration.”

It tried to explain the important details of immigration law and who is in charge of implementing it. Others thanked them for giving the background. Some people kept going with their comments.

The post says that local police can arrest someone without papers for a crime just like they can any other person. But “the arrest is based on the crime, not just the immigration status,”

VCSO will hold someone for an extra 48 hours after their usual release date if ICE asks them to be detained. This happens once they are in jail. They had already sent 12 to Vanderburgh this year as of last week.

One more thing that some agencies can do is make a “287(g) agreement.” “Delegating to state and local law enforcement officers the authority to perform specified immigration officer functions under the agency’s direction and oversight,” according to ICE, is what that law says.

The program, on the other hand, “does not give local sheriffs the authority to arrest for immigration violations in public; only in jail,” the VCSO says.

Wednesday in an email to the Courier & Press, Robinson said that his office was ready to “help with any arrests that were related to a felony.” On the other hand, “ICE confirmed that their operations here would only be focused on immigration misdemeanors.”

He said that ICE didn’t let the sheriff’s office know how many people they might have arrested. ICE wouldn’t even say they were here in a statement to the Courier & Press on Tuesday.

Robinson said, “Our deputies won’t do general immigration enforcement outside of the jail unless a change in state or federal law requires it.” “Using local police to enforce immigration laws hurts trust between the people we serve and the police.”

“We are the ones who stay behind to police the area after federal agencies like ICE come and go.” If people are afraid of being deported if they call the police to report a crime, more people will be victims, bystanders will not speak out, and crimes will not be solved.

“Trust is the first step toward working together for public safety,” he said.