08-03-2025
Winnebago County sheriff says ICE agreement doesn't mean immigrants will be rounded up
OSHKOSH – Local law enforcement isn't about to just start rounding up immigrants.
Winnebago County Sheriff John Matz told the Northwestern Friday his office's agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement will allow officers to hold noncitizens already in jail for an additional 48 hours under ICE advisement.
According to Matz, the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office was already a part of this agreement under the 287(g) program but the recent memorandum of understanding with ICE gives the department further training and liability protection.
'We're not going to go to farms in Winnebago County unless the person has a criminal warrant for a criminal act they committed here,' Matz said. 'None of that is happening. We aren't going to businesses. We aren't checking for people's citizenship randomly. That's not happening, and I don't ever see that happening because that's just a rabbit hole I prefer not to even go down.'
Initial news of the sheriff's office's agreement with ICE was met with pushback and fear amid the Trump administration's public stance on immigration and deportation.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin issued a statement in response, condemning the Winnebago and Washington County sheriff's departments for entering into the 287(g) agreement, saying they will 'embolden police to engage in racial profiling.'
In the release, the ACLU said law enforcement in 287(g) jurisdictions have made stops and arrests based on the driver's perceived race or immigration instead of issuing a ticket.
'This has nothing to do with someone who is on a traffic stop and the patrol deputy thinks they might not be a citizen,' Matz said. 'That's simply not happening here, and it changes absolutely nothing we already do.'
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Added to the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act in 1996, Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act authorizes ICE to delegate state and local law enforcement 'the authority to perform specified immigration officer functions under the agency's direction and oversight.'
As part of that agreement, local deputies will receive a four-hour training on how to serve detainers, which allows law enforcement to hold a person in a cell for an additional 48 hours after their scheduled release.
'When someone comes into our jail, and we check their status and if we can't determine that, then we notify ICE to determine if they wish to place a hold on the person,' Matz said. 'This benefits the citizens of our county and protects public safety, so it's what we should be doing and that's what we have been doing.'
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According to Matz, the department was hit with an additional $8,000 burden as a result of overtime and medical bills because the office's deputies had to guard a convicted felon at a hospital. Matz said the department was eventually able to 'remove the person and send them back to their country of origin.'
Nine county sheriff's offices in Wisconsin are signed onto the 287(g) program, including Brown, Fond du Lac, Manitowoc, Marquette, Sheboygan, Washington, Waukesha and Waushara.
Contact Justin Marville at jmarville@ and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @justinmarville.
This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Winnebago County sheriff says ICE agreement doesn't mean random raids
