ICE plans Carmel office as immigration enforcement efforts ramp up

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is looking to set up shop at an office space in Carmel, city officials confirmed Wednesday.

According to a Feb. 10 report by the technology magazine Wired, ICE has set its sights on Penn on Parkway, an office park located near Interstate 465 and U.S. 31 in Carmel.

Carmel Police Chief Drake Sterling said in a written statement that his department has been notified that ICE will be establishing an office in the city. He deferred further questions regarding ICE activity to the federal agency.

ICE did not immediately respond to The Indiana Lawyer’s request for comment.

Matthew Snyder, president of Carmel’s city council, told The Indiana Lawyer in a written statement on Wednesday that he learned ICE may be leasing a local building “not through official city channels, but through emails and from concerned constituents.”

“It is frustrating that no one in city government appears to have had advance knowledge of this lease,” Snyder added. “Transparency and communication are essential when something like this would obviously raise questions from the community.”

The Indiana Lawyer has reached out to leasing representatives for Penn on Parkway for additional information.

ICE currently operates an office on the northwest side of Indianapolis, at 7355 Woodland Drive, about 10 miles from Penn on Parkway.

A move to Carmel comes amid reports that the agency has considered Merrillville for a potential processing center. A Dec. 24 report by The Washington Post, citing internal documents reviewed by its staff, says the federal agency was planning seven large-scale detention centers and 16 smaller processing centers, one of which would be in Merrillville.

However, officials in Merrillville are still unsure if ICE has anything planned for the town, and ICE has also not responded to The Indiana Lawyer’s requests regarding the agency’s potential involvement there.