ACLU of Wisconsin Executive Director Dr. Melinda Brennan issued the following statement today after state lawmakers proposed a bill requiring county sheriffs to do ICE’s bidding:
“LRB-0779 aims to remove local sheriffs' discretion and force them to collaborate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hand in glove, regardless of its impact on the community, taxpayers, the state economy, or public safety.
Under threat of losing funding for essential services in their counties, this legislation would require local sheriffs to investigate the citizenship status of anyone confined in jail for felony allegations and force county sheriffs to honor voluntary ICE detainer requests for anyone in the jail regardless of the allegations.
In addition, any person who invokes their Fifth Amendment right to remain silent must be reported to ICE, as must anyone who cooperates but fails to have access to the specific documents listed in the bill.
Under current Wisconsin law, local law enforcement has no obligation to investigate residents' immigration status, no authority to make arrests for immigration violations, and no requirement to honor ICE detainer requests to hold persons for 48 hours so ICE can pick them up.
This bill sends the wrong message. It sends the message that local law enforcement should take on the additional tasks and risks of immigration status investigations. It will encourage xenophobic sheriffs to investigate the status of not just persons accused of serious crimes but of anyone who enters their custody.
County sheriffs and local police departments should not be forced to act as an extension of ICE’s mass deportation machine.”
