The Brief Following the arrest of Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan, there's a new battle over immigration enforcement that goes much farther than courthouses. The question is, how much should workers at the DMV, state parks, and other departments work with ICE agents? The Evers administration sent out a document to state workers on how they should handle ICE, which Republican lawmakers have criticized.
The power struggle between your local and federal governments takes a new turn. On Friday, April 25, the FBI arrested Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan. Investigators say she helped a mexican national evade US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and escape from her courtroom.
But the new battle over ICE is much more than just courthouses. Related article Immigration enforcement in Wisconsin Big picture view: We’re talking about your DMV, state parks, and even the department that holds your tax records. All the workers are paid by your state tax money.
The question is: how much should they work with immigration agents? FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android It's Governor Evers versus Republican lawmakers on ICE. "And for the Republicans to go crazy on this is absolutely ridiculous.
They just want to make a thing where there isn’t a thing," said Gov. Tony Evers. Governor Tony Evers and Speaker Robin Vos Guidance from the Evers administration What we know: A document is at the center of this very real fight.
In it, the Evers administration tells state workers how to handle ICE agents. Evers administration document First, the state worker is to ask agents for their names, check badges and find out why they're there. The state workers are then to ask the agent to take a seat in the public waiting room.
Then, the state workers are to call their agency’s attorney. If the worker can’t reach an attorney, the document says: "ask the agent to come back" later. The state tells its workers: Do not answer agent’s questions Do not give access to files or computers Do not allow the agent into a non-public area.
The document says the agency’s lawyer will advise on those possible requests. Evers administration document "The very fact that Tony Evers is instructing his employees to either break federal law or not cooperate with law enforcement is a new low for Tony Evers," said Speaker Robin Vos. "That’s baloney.
ICE can do what ice wants to do. The only thing I want is if they come to a place of work, and an employee wants to be talked to by ICE, that they bring their attorney there," Evers said. SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News Still, Republicans ask the governor to rip up the guidance, something he's not doing.
The Wisconsin Assembly passed a bill that would require sheriffs to request people in county jails give proof they’re in the country legally. The senate hasn’t passed it, yet. Governor Evers called that bill "wrong-headed."
