(The Center Square) – Republicans at the Wisconsin Capitol want Democrats, including Gov. Tony Evers, to not play politics with their latest immigration legislation.
State Rep. Tyler August, R-Lake Geneva, and Sen. Julian Bradley on Tuesday introduced legislation that would punish sheriffs across the state who do not cooperate with ICE.
“To sum it up, I want to stress three words – it keeps our communities safe. Keeps communities safe,” Bradley explained. “And the way we’re going to accomplish this is to require proof of legal presence for those being held in county jails on felony offenses. I want to stress the word felony offenses.”
The legislation would essentially fine sheriffs 15% of their shared revenue dollars if they refuse to cooperate with ICE or refuse to tally illegal immigrants in their jails.
Bradley said there are already sheriffs in the state who’ve promised to give up federal reimbursement dollars to make a political point about immigration and the new Trump Administration.
“We don’t want Wisconsin on the hook for this, therefore sheriffs shall seek reimbursement from the feds for cost incurred in complying with the retainer,” Bradley said. “We know from recent media [reports] that there are sheriffs in our state that are not interested in complying with federal law. Our message to them is do not put your personal politics above the safety of the citizens who elected you.”
Evers on Monday promised to veto the plan.
An Evers spokesperson said the legislation “is not a serious proposal,” and said lawmakers should be working with the governor and local sheriffs “to improve public safety, reduce crime, and keep dangerous drugs and violent criminals off of our streets.”
“I think it’s unbelievably unfortunate, but not unexpected that the governor would threaten to veto a bill that he hasn’t even seen yet,” August said Tuesday morning. “It seems to be his M-O that he governs by veto. He goes out and gives a State of the State speech about talking about how we all need to get along and work together, and then just starts to threaten to veto bills before they’re even released.”
August said Democratic lawmakers in Madison aren’t much better.
“Their party has become so extreme on this one issue that they can’t even support removing criminals, violent criminals from our streets that should not even be in the country in the first place,” he said.
Democratic leaders at the Capitol were silent about the immigration legislation, but Milwaukee County Democrats did express their opposition.
“This dangerous legislation would force Wisconsin residents to carry documents at all times to prove they have the right to live in their homes, go to work, and pick their children up from school. Under this proposal, anyone detained by a Wisconsin sheriff who cannot immediately prove their legal status would be at risk of being handed over to federal authorities,” a group including Supervisors Caroline Gómez-Tom, Juan Miguel Martínez, Anne O’Connor, Steven Shea, Sky Z. Capriolo, and Justin Bielinski said.
