Immigration

Protecting Our Community and Our Constitution

I spent years working inside one of Indiana's correctional facilities. I have deep respect for law enforcement, and I understand what it takes to keep a community safe. What I also understand — from that experience — is that every person in our system, in our community, and in our country has rights that cannot be taken away. That is not a political opinion. That is the Constitution.

Immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility. When the Statehouse forces our county sheriffs to act as federal agents — without funding, without training, and without accountability — it does not make us safer. It pulls officers away from the calls that matter to our families and drains local budgets that should be spent on our roads, our schools, and our emergency services.

The Problem

Local law enforcement in Putnam and Montgomery Counties already covers vast territory with limited staff and tight budgets. Our county sheriffs should be focused on the calls that keep our families safe — responding to domestic violence, investigating drug crimes, patrolling hundreds of miles of county road.

When the state mandates that local officers take on federal immigration duties without providing funding or training, it does not add to public safety. It subtracts from it. Every dollar our county spends holding someone for ICE is a dollar not spent on a road deputy, a drug task force officer, or an EMS unit. Every hour a local officer spends processing federal detainers is an hour they are not responding to the needs of our community.

Putnam and Montgomery Counties are home to families who have come from all over the world — to work in our factories, raise their children in our schools, worship in our churches, and build their lives alongside ours. In Crawfordsville, nearly one in four public school students is Hispanic or Latino. These are our neighbors. Their children sit next to ours in class. Their parents work in our businesses and contribute to our local economy.

Where Kelsey Stands

Kelsey believes in the rule of law. She also believes the law must be applied fairly, humanely, and with respect for the rights of every person. Those are not contradictions. They are the foundation of the country she loves.

As a former corrections professional, Kelsey understands public safety from the inside — not from a podium. She has worked alongside the men and women who keep our communities safe, and she has seen firsthand what happens when the system is stretched beyond its capacity. She respects law enforcement enough to fight for the resources and focus they actually need — not to saddle them with someone else's job.

Kelsey opposes the co-opting of state and local resources for federal immigration enforcement. She supports immigration enforcement that is lawful, humane, and accountable. She opposes enforcement that treats constitutional rights as optional.

What She'll Fight For

• Protect local law enforcement resources from unfunded state mandates that divert officers from community safety
• Defend local control so our county sheriffs decide how their communities are policed — not bureaucrats in Washington or Indianapolis
• Uphold constitutional rights for every person standing on American soil, including due process and freedom from unreasonable search
• Oppose legislation like SB 76 that forces hospitals to collect immigration paperwork and threatens small businesses with license revocation over paperwork errors
• Ensure taxpayer dollars are spent on local priorities — our roads, our schools, our emergency services — not on doing the federal government's job

"I believe in local control. I believe the people of Putnam County and Montgomery County should decide how their communities are policed — not bureaucrats in Washington sending agents into our neighborhoods without so much as a phone call to the sheriff. If that is not government overreach, I do not know what is."