Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez (D-Milwaukee) said at a press conference that everyone in Wisconsin and the U.S. is protected from unreasonable searches and seizures regardless of immigration status. Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner.

Wisconsin Democrats announced legislation Tuesday that would block state and local government officials from cooperating with federal deportation efforts — getting ahead of an expected bill from Republican lawmakers this week that would instruct the opposite. 

The legislation comes as President Donald Trump has launched highly publicized immigration raids across the country yielding close to 1,000 arrests. Last week, the new administration threw out guidelines limiting enforcement in or near “sensitive” areas, including places of worship, schools, health care facilities, relief centers and social services centers.

Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez (D-Milwaukee) said at a press conference that everyone in Wisconsin and the U.S. is protected from unreasonable searches and seizures regardless of immigration status. 

“We want people in Wisconsin’s kids to feel safe in Wisconsin schools, places of worship, places where child care services are provided, in places where medical or other health care services are provided,” Ortiz-Velez said. “Kids deserve to feel safe in school. People deserve to seek medical care without fear of separation or detainment.”

The bill would prohibit state agency and local government officials, employees and agents, including law enforcement officers, from aiding in the detention of a person if they are being detained on the “sole basis that the individual is or is alleged to be not lawfully present in the United States” unless there is a judicial warrant. It would only apply to detentions in a public building or facility, school, place of worship, place where child care services are provided, or place where medical or other health care services are provided. Under the bill, civilians also wouldn’t be required to aid unless there is a judicial warrant.

The bill would also prohibit the state from using its money to aid in detention efforts. 

Ortiz-Velez said that Wisconsin should protect the law-abiding residents of the state regardless of immigration status and emphasized that Wisconsin doesn’t have to comply with the federal government in its deportation efforts. 

“While as a state we may not stop the federal government from exercising its legitimate power within the state’s borders, a state is not required to help the federal government in the exercise of its powers,” Ortiz-Velez. 

“Good, hard-working people deserve to be treated with dignity — a pathway to citizenship, fair wages. We need real and meaningful immigration reform from Washington DC,” Ortiz-Velez continued. “And I’m urging Congress and the president to move forward with solutions that secure the border but also work to reform our broken immigration system.”

It’s unlikely the bill will become law given that Republican lawmakers, who hold a majority in the Assembly and Senate, plan to introduce legislation soon that would do the opposite. 

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said last week at the State of the State address the Republicans plan to propose a bill this week that would require local law enforcement to cooperate with the deportation efforts of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

GOP lawmakers have argued that Wisconsinites, in voting for President Donald Trump in November, signaled support for his immigration policies. Trump won Wisconsin by fewer than 30,000 votes — or 0.9% of the vote. 

Forward Latino National President Darryl Morrin sought to address some misconceptions about undocumented immigrants. He cited research showing that undocumented workers pay taxes in the U.S. without benefiting from the social services they help to pay for, and most are not  criminals and are in the U.S. solely to work. One report found that in 2022 undocumented immigrants paid nearly $100 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue.

“The overwhelming number of undocumented immigrants are guilty of one thing: wanting to provide for their families and do so in a safe and nurturing environment,” Morrin said. “Being undocumented in the United States is not a crime, despite what is being repeated on the airwaves nightly, it’s a civil violation. It’s the same thing as if I had a parking ticket.” 

Lawmakers and advocates said the bill was necessary as a way to protect people from inhumane treatment. 

“What is happening at the federal level is not a safety plan. It is fear weaponized, targeting the most vulnerable among us, and we know that this approach silences victims of violence who are afraid to speak out,” Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison) said. “It fosters exploitation and fractures trust. Chaos is not a safety solution. Hate is not a policy, and fear is not safety. The only path to a freer, fairer future is through humane constitutional policies. It’s through investments in communities, not draconian crackdowns.” 

Sen. Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) said the actions of the federal government, under the guidance of Trump, have caused “significant anxiety and chaos across America.” He quoted the Bible, Leviticus 19:33: “When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner resides among you and must be treated as your native-born.”

Christian and religious teachings were a repeated theme throughout the press conference as multiple advocates and faith leaders spoke in support of the bill.

Executive director of the Wisconsin Council of Churches Rev. Kerri Parker said it’s necessary for religious and human services workers to be allowed to do their jobs  without fear of disruption by “state violence.” She said she was delivering the message with the backing of the board of directors of the Wisconsin Council of Churches.

“We live in an age of fear and separation, but Wisconsin, we can do better,” Parker said. “A practice of care and accommodation, feeding and clothing, healing and safety has been in place among people of faith for millennia. Hospitality is a central piece of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. How then are we to allow simple human need to be treated as a trespass? We can’t.” 

The pleas from Wisconsin faith leaders come as others across the country have been calling for the Trump administration to treat immigrants with dignity. Last week, Rev. Mariann Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, directly pleaded with Trump during a service to “have mercy” on vulnerable people in the U.S. including those who “pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meatpacking plants.”

“We have many messages from churches, supporting those who live in fear because of the color of their skin, their national origin, their immigration status. Our neighbors are seeking help, solidarity and peace,” Parker said. “We desperately need reconciliation, something that will not be achieved by making us more fearful and suspicious of one another or by adding more violence to an already violent world.”