Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller filed motions in federal court Tuesday asking that the federal government be joined as a necessary party to the state’s immigration lawsuit.

Zoeller said the federal government is a necessary party for the legal arguments in the suit, Buquer, et al. v. City of Indianapolis, et al., No. 1:11-CV-708, filed in May on behalf of plaintiffs who say Senate Enrolled Act 590, now Public Law 171-2011, will allow police to wrongly arrest people and penalize immigrants for using their consular identification cards.  Without the U.S.’s involvement, Indiana is subject to a substantial risk of inconsistent or multiple judgments based upon the potential for future litigation by the federal government regarding the same matters, Zoeller wrote in the motion to join a necessary party.

Judge Sarah Evans Barker in the Southern District of Indiana granted the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction in June, blocking the enforcement of two provisions: one that deals with arrests of illegal immigrants subject to immigration court removal orders; the other prohibiting the use of foreign consular identification cards as ID in Indiana. The plaintiffs have also filed a motion for a permanent injunction. Zoeller decided not to appeal the preliminary ruling.