Milwaukee, other Wisconsin 'sanctuary jurisdictions' listed as defying federal immigration law

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2 days ago

The Trump administration put Milwaukee and a handful of other Wisconsin municipalities on a list of 'sanctuary' jurisdictions allegedly defying enforcement of federal immigration law and in jeopardy of losing federal grants and contracts.
But communities on the list across the country questioned their inclusion, with some Trump-supporting places saying they have no sanctuary immigration policies. More progressive places either defended their policies or drew attention to the error-riddled list, which misspelled cities like Cincinnati and misidentified counties as cities, or vice versa.
The Department of Homeland Security published the list a month after Trump issued an executive order directing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to do so as part of his agenda to deport millions of illegal immigrants. The department included a major caveat on its website, noting the list can be reviewed and changed at any time and will be updated regularly.
It's unclear what exactly landed Milwaukee, Madison, Dane County and Shawano County in northeastern Wisconsin on the list. DHS did not return a request for comment May 30.
For the most part, the term today refers to cities, counties and states that pass ordinances, policies or legislation declaring themselves sanctuaries for immigrants and promising to limit cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's efforts to detain and deport people who are undocumented.
Technically, neither the city of Milwaukee nor Milwaukee County has ordinances or resolutions that explicitly state they are sanctuaries for immigrants.
More: Is Milwaukee a sanctuary city? Not quite, but it's one of Wisconsin's closest examples
Neither the Milwaukee Police Department nor the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office asks for people's citizenship status, nor do they detain people solely because of their immigration status. People who are booked at the Milwaukee County Jail are required to state their birth country and citizenship, but these responses are self-reported and not confirmed.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement lists the Milwaukee County Jail as one of two "non-cooperative institutions" in Wisconsin. That means the jail generally does not alert ICE about noncitizens in custody who are about to be released, nor will the jail commit to holding them until ICE can take them into custody.
The Milwaukee Police Department and the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office cooperate with ICE in some circumstances. They will detain, arrest, and share personal information of undocumented people with ICE — such as home and work addresses or the person's custody release date — if that person is suspected of terrorism, gang activity or arrested for violent felonies.
In addition, Milwaukee Public Schools in 2017 passed a Safe Haven Resolution that says actions taken by ICE on school grounds "will be opposed by all legal means available."
Some people say these on immigration enforcement are an indirect way of being a sanctuary city. But others, such as Comité Sin Fronteras, a branch of Voces De La Frontera, argue the county and city aren't sanctuaries because more could be done. The county, for example, could prohibit immigration officers from making arrests at the courthouse.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said he had not received a formal notice from the federal government about the list.
"This is another example of the Trump administration, you know, shooting first and asking questions later," Johnson told WISN. "It's exhausting trying to keep up with everything that this administration is putting forward. It's like they're just slapping things on the wall and hoping that they stick."
Jeff Fleming, a spokesman for Johnson, said the city was surprised to learn of its designation. He said city officials have met internally to evaluate options on whether to take issue with it.
In 2017, defunding sanctuary cities was among Trump's first executive orders, but it didn't hold up in federal court.
Like Milwaukee, officials for Madison and Dane County said they have not been formally notified of their inclusion on the list.
ICE identified Dane County as a 'non-cooperative institution." Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett earlier this year ended participation in a federal program that gives officers the authority to carry out immigration duties under the direction of ICE.
The Madison Police Department does not routinely ask about the immigration status of people interacting with officers, nor does it conduct immigration-related investigations unless a person is is suspected of terrorism, gang activity or arrested for violent felonies.
In response to making the sanctuary list, Madison City Attorney Michael Haas told the Capital Times that Madison is a 'welcoming city, and we make no apologies for that.' He said the city is 'exploring all options to protect our residents, our city and the funding appropriated to our city by Congress.'
Shawano County, just west of Green Bay, wound up on the list despite 67% of county voters supporting Trump in the November election. The Shawano County Sheriff's Office and county administrator Jim Davel did not return Green Bay Press-Gazette interview requests May 30.
Davel told the Associated Press the list was a misunderstanding. Shawano County had not approved any immigration sanctuary policies. The Shawano County Board did vote in March 2021 to become a 'Second Amendment Sanctuary County' that opposed any attempts to enact "legislation unlawfully infringing on our rights under the Second Amendment."
However, Shawano County said it did not share the names of people booked in their jails with ICE, according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and USA TODAY Network-Wisconsin survey of 72 sheriffs this year.
'We have no idea how we got on this list whatsoever right at this point,' Davel told the Associated Press. 'I think it was just a big mix up, probably some paperwork or something.'
Vivian Barrett of the Green Bay Press-Gazette and Gina Castro of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this article.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Trump sanctuary list includes Milwaukee, Madison and Shawano County