Wisconsin Dems vow assist to immigrants as Trump returns

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Donald Trump will return to the White Home on Monday afternoon, specializing in so-called “America First” insurance policies.

Amongst Trump’s high priorities is a pledge to deport hundreds of thousands of individuals dwelling in america with out authorized standing. Trump’s staff has ready a stack of government orders to signal in brief order, with a heavy emphasis on immigration coverage.

However some Democratic leaders in Wisconsin say they gained’t play ball with the federal authorities in the case of residents dwelling in america with out authorized standing.

“Dane County will proceed to be sturdy, we’ll proceed to be compassionate, and we’ll assist each other,” Dane County Government Melissa Agard instructed reporters final week, including that county businesses will proceed to ship companies to all residents.

Dane County District Lawyer Ismael Ozanne agreed, saying “irrespective of who you’re or the place you come from, my workplace is dedicated to serving to make Dane County a secure and welcoming place for all.”

“Elevated worry of mass deportation has already inhibited some members of our most susceptible populations from reporting their victimization to legislation enforcement,” he added. “This actuality perpetuates a cycle of violence and criminality which have a chilling impact on our whole neighborhood.”

The Dane County Sheriff’s Workplace can even proceed its present practices, spokesperson Elise Schaffer instructed reporters. For instance, the workplace doesn’t present “proactive communication” to federal immigration authorities nor does it inform U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement if deputies encounter somebody with out authorized standing whereas working within the discipline or in the event that they’ve taken them into custody.

In Milwaukee, Mayor Cavalier Johnson “desires all residents, regardless of immigration standing, to be appropriately revered,” his spokesperson, Jeff Fleming, instructed Wisconsin Watch. “The mayor has expressed his opposition to the rhetoric and hostility directed towards immigrants.”

ICE is searching for to maneuver its present Milwaukee facility from downtown to town’s northwest aspect, Milwaukee Neighborhood Information Service reported final week, however has up to now been met with vital neighborhood pushback.

Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman didn’t immediately reply to questions from Wisconsin Watch. As a substitute, a spokesperson pointed to the division’s normal working procedures referring to immigration enforcement.

“Enforcement of the nation’s immigration legal guidelines is the duty of the federal authorities,” the coverage states. “Accordingly, the Milwaukee Police Division doesn’t unilaterally undertake immigration-related investigations and doesn’t routinely inquire into the immigration standing of individuals encountered throughout police operations.”

“An individual’s proper to file a police report, take part in police-community actions, or in any other case profit from police companies is just not contingent upon their immigration standing,” it continues, whereas noting the division could cooperate with federal authorities in sure particular instances.

Law enforcement officials within the metropolis of Inexperienced Bay are additionally not within the enterprise of holding tabs on somebody’s immigration standing, Inexperienced Bay Police Chief Chris Davis instructed Wisconsin Watch in an interview.

“There aren’t very many conditions the place somebody’s immigration standing is absolutely related to any of the work that we’re doing,” Davis mentioned, including: “My precedence is the protection and the well-being of whoever occurs to be within the metropolis of Inexperienced Bay at any given time.”

The precise variety of individuals dwelling in Wisconsin with out authorized standing is tough to find out, Wisconsin Watch reported final week, however some teams, just like the nonpartisan Migration Coverage Institute, have estimated there to be about 70,000 such individuals within the state.

Staff with out authorized standing are notably vital to the state’s dairy trade, in line with a 2023 UW-Madison College for Staff survey. “Greater than 10,000 undocumented” employees carry out round 70% of the labor on Wisconsin’s dairy farms, the report discovered, and with out them “the entire dairy trade would collapse in a single day,” the researchers concluded.

Trump can be sworn in at 11 a.m. CST on Monday.