Failed to pass both houses, will not become law this session
There are roughly 159,000 immigrants living in Wisconsin who are not yet U.S. citizens—many have been living here for years or even decades. Their immigration status runs from permanent resident, DREAMER, refugee, to holders of work and student visas, as well as those who are undocumented. They work in a wide variety of jobs, including being the backbone of the state’ s dairy and farming industry. They live in communities throughout Wisconsin and are our neighbors, friends and family members. And all of them run the risk of being deported through some contact with the criminal justice system. In addition to exacerbating Wisconsin’s jail-to-deportation pipeline, this bill would invite racial profiling and ultimately undermine public safety by diminishing immigrant communities’ trust in law enforcement.
Similar to Arizona’s “show me your papers” law that inspired it, this bill would create a scheme requiring local law enforcement officers to verify the immigration status of individuals stopped by police and cited, arrested, or charged, regardless of the nature of the allegations, functionally compelling all people in the state of Wisconsin, citizens and non-citizens alike, to carry identification documents on them at all times, just in case they are cited by police officers and asked to prove their citizenship or immigration status.
Read our 2022 report on Wisconsin’s jail-to-deportation pipeline.
