Latest news with #JuanMiguelMartinez
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
ICE arrests at Milwaukee County Courthouse prompt call to safeguard services, individual rights
After immigration officers arrested two people in the hallways of the Milwaukee County Courthouse complex, a county committee on April 15 formally called on county officials to work together to ensure access to services and safeguard every individual's right to due process. The resolution co-authored by County Board Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson and Supervisors Juan Miguel Martinez and Caroline Gómez-Tom also requested that the county share materials throughout the courthouse complex that educate residents on their rights and how to handle potential interactions with immigration authorities. Supervisors Sky Capriolo, Willie Johnson, Jr., Juan Miguel Martinez, Justin Bielinski voted to adopt the resolution, which now moves to the full County Board on April 24. Supervisor Patti Logsdon abstained from voting, citing ongoing questions about the "legal uncertainty" and standing of the resolution and possible retaliation from the Trump administration. "Some may ask, why should this county act on what appears to be a federal issue? The answer is simple, because we are the stewards of this place," Nicholson told the committee, calling for the courthouse to remain "accessible, safe, and legally sound for all people." In the last two weeks, County Executive David Crowley, Chief Judge Carl Ashley as well as other county officials and stakeholders have raised concerns about the presence of federal agents in the courthouse and how it could not only deter immigrants from accessing the judicial system but also erode trust and create confusion regarding the legal protections immigrants have. State Reps. Priscilla A. Prado and Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, and Darryl Morin, president of advocacy group Forward Latino, backed the resolution during testimony. Gómez-Tom highlighted that the courthouse complex not only houses Milwaukee County's court system but also serves as the home for resources and services for residents, including child support, victim services and vital records from the Register of Deeds. "It is our responsibility to serve our community and all inhabitants of our county," she said. "We have many more services at the courthouse than even just the justice system, and that's something that we also have to remember — that people are coming in and out of this building, thousands at a time, for various resources ... and everyone should have a right to do so and to do so in peace." For Martinez, the resolution represents the "first step towards creating more action," later likening the current administration under President Donald Trump to 1939 Nazi Germany. "Every single day, it descends into more and more madness," he said. "What we have to do here is we have to make sure that, as local representatives of our communities, that we make sure that we fight every single day against this unlawful administration ... We won't let our country descend into absolute tyrannical madness." In his successful run for president last year Trump campaigned heavily on a promise to remove people in the country illegally and since taking office has embarked on a large-scale crackdown. According to a Department of Homeland Security directive issued in January, ICE officers may make civil immigration arrests "in or near courthouses" when they have credible information that the person will be present. Both people arrested in the Milwaukee County Courthouse complex were facing criminal charges. While Ashley previously told the Journal Sentinel that the ICE arrests were not unprecedented, he reiterated to the committee that he was working on a policy that is both legally strong and assures access. A draft copy of the policy is in the hands of system partners, according to Ashley, who said he anticipates releasing a final version in the next couple of weeks. "I know the community is concerned, and rightfully so, and from our lens we have to do our due diligence and make sure whatever proposal we come up with is going to be something that can be adhered to, and not give people a false sense of security about what would happen down at this courthouse," Ashley said. Chief Deputy Sheriff Brian Barkow said the agency was awaiting a legal opinion to understand the Sheriff's Office purview. Barkow said that they had been notified by ICE "seconds" before the first arrest of Mexican citizen Marco Cruz-Garcia, 24, on March 20. He added that the agency had not been notified about the second arrest of Nicaraguan citizen Edwin Bustamante-Sierra, 27, on April 3. As a result, Barkow shared that they had reviewed video surveillance footage involving the ICE arrests and noted that the federal agents had been in plainclothes, but said it was hard to tell whether they had been armed. According to an ICE spokesperson, Cruz-Garcia is "a known member of the Sureños transnational criminal street gang" and was ordered to be removed by an immigration judge in February 2020. Court records show Cruz-Garcia was charged in January in a misdemeanor domestic abuse incident in Milwaukee County. He has not been convicted. Bustamante-Sierra faces felony charges of recklessly endangering safety and reckless use of a firearm and a misdemeanor cocaine possession charge, according to court records. He also has not been convicted. Eva Wen of the Journal Sentinel contributed. Contact Vanessa Swales at 414-308-5881 or vswales@ Follow her on X @Vanessa_Swales. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: ICE arrests at Milwaukee County Courthouse prompt push for safeguards
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
ICE denies report that officers detained Puerto Rican family in Milwaukee
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is disputing a viral report that a Puerto Rican family was detained by immigration officers in Milwaukee while shopping. "It's completely false," an ICE spokesperson told the Journal Sentinel Friday. Earlier this week, Telemundo Puerto Rico reported a Puerto Rican family of three — including a 3-year-old child — was detained by ICE after being overheard speaking Spanish at a store in Milwaukee. The report featured an anonymous interview with a person described as a relative of the family. According to the ICE spokesperson, Telemundo did not reach out to the agency to confirm if this incident occurred. The report has garnered millions of views and was shared across several social media platforms by members of Congress and others. Immigration advocates in Wisconsin and across the U.S. have been dealing with a barrage of rumors about ICE operations since President Donald Trump took office. They have asked community members to refrain from sharing unverified information to avoid causing unnecessary panic. Local advocates say that false rumors detract from real instances of raids and U.S. citizens being detained in other states. "Remember that when we spread misinformation, we are helping the people that want to destroy us," Milwaukee County Supervisor Juan Miguel Martinez said in a Facebook post Thursday. Multiple sheriff's offices and elected officials also said they could not confirm the story. The report said the Puerto Rican family was bused to a nearby detention center, but sheriff's offices from Milwaukee County to Kenosha County said they had no evidence of such a family being detained in their jails. "We have no record of a bus of detained people brought here by ICE," said Patrick Esser, with the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department, in an email Friday. U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, who shared the report on X, also told the Journal Sentinel Thursday she was unable to verify the incident. Local advocacy group Forward Latino hasn't been able to verify the incident either, according to Darryl Morin, president of Forward Latino. Gina Lee Castro is a Public Investigator reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at gcastro@ This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: ICE denies detaining Puerto Rican family in Milwaukee
USA Today
31-01-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
ICE denies report that officers detained Puerto Rican family in Milwaukee
ICE denies report that officers detained Puerto Rican family in Milwaukee U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is disputing a viral report that a Puerto Rican family was detained by immigration officers in Milwaukee while shopping last week. "It's completely false," an ICE spokesperson told the Journal Sentinel Friday. Earlier this week, Telemundo Puerto Rico reported a Puerto Rican family of three — including a three-year-old child— was detained by ICE after being overheard speaking Spanish at a store in Milwaukee. The report featured an anonymous interview with a person described as a relative of the family. According to the ICE spokesperson, Telemundo did not reach out to the agency to confirm if this incident occurred. The report has garnered millions of views and was shared across several social media platforms, like X, by members of Congress and others. Immigration advocates in Wisconsin and across the U.S. have been dealing with a barrage of rumors about ICE operations since President Donald Trump took office. They have asked community members to refrain from sharing unverified information to avoid causing unnecessary panic. Local advocates say that false rumors detract from real instances of raids and U.S. citizens being detained in other states. "Remember that when we spread misinformation, we are helping the people that want to destroy us," Milwaukee County Supervisor Juan Miguel Martinez said in a Facebook post Thursday. Multiple sheriff's offices and elected officials also said they could not confirm the story. The report said the Puerto Rican family was bused to a nearby detention center, but sheriff's offices from Milwaukee County to Kenosha County said they had no evidence of such a family being detained in their jails. "We have no record of a bus of detained people brought here by ICE," said Patrick Esser, with the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department, in an email Friday. U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, who shared the report on X, also told the Journal Sentinel Thursday she was unable to verify the incident. Local advocacy group Forward Latino hasn't been able to verify the incident either, according to Darryl Morin, president of Forward Latino. Gina Lee Castro is a Public Investigator reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at gcastro@
