Reports of an ICE Surge in Indianapolis Draw a Congressional Inquiry From André Carson and a Warning From Jim Banks That "We Will Not Let Indianapolis Become Minneapolis" — While the Mayor Says Nobody Told the City Anything
In the first days of September 2026, immigrant-aid groups in Indianapolis and Bloomington reported a sharp increase in Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity — masked agents, unmarked vehicles, arrests off traffic stops, and a foot pursuit that crossed multiple lanes of traffic. ICE would not confirm an operation or provide details. On Sept. 3, Rep. André Carson (D-Ind.) sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and acting ICE Director David Venturella demanding an accounting. Carson's objection was to the method as much as the scale: agents whose identity, authority and mission the public cannot verify, he wrote, produce fear rather than safety. Indiana's Republicans answered in the opposite direction. Sen. Jim Banks said anyone obstructing ICE in Indiana should be arrested and prosecuted, and invoked Minneapolis — where Operation Metro Surge and the shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis by ICE officer Christian Castro have produced eight months of litigation — as the outcome he intends to avoid. Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith said he "proudly" supported the officers working in the state. City government's position was that it had no position, because it had no information. Mayor Joe Hogsett's office and City-County Council President Maggie Lewis both said no federal immigration authority had communicated with any city or county agency about current or planned operations in Marion County; the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and the Marion County Sheriff's Office each said they were not involved. Both Hogsett and Lewis paired that with a statement of what kind of city Indianapolis intends to be.
“At this time, we have no information indicating that federal immigration authorities have formally changed their approach or are specifically targeting Indianapolis.”