The Milwaukee County Courthouse. (Photo | Isiah Holmes)

Two people have been arrested at the Milwaukee County Courthouse by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, the sheriff’s office said Friday. Although the Milwaukee County Sheriffs Office (MCSO) was aware of the first arrest, the office states that it was not given advance notice of the second arrest. MCSO stressed in a statement that it did not participate in either arrest, and that it’s “not uncommon for local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to search available databases for upcoming court hearings of individuals they are seeking.” 

MCSO has not responded to a request for more details. A spokesperson for ICE said the agency was unable to confirm the arrests without additional information about the specific targets. Fears of immigration operations have been heightened since President Donald Trump announced that the government would pursue mass deportations. ICE has made hundreds of arrests in recent months, including of people who were not convicted of any  crime and activists who participated in  protests on college campuses. 

Local groups and officials are condemning the arrests at the courthouse. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said that the courthouse “stands as a cornerstone of justice where residents come to seek information, resources and fair participation in the legal process.” Crowley said that “an attack on this safe, community-serving space undermines public trust, breeds fear among citizens and staff and disrupts the due process essential to our courts.” Crowley called on local leaders to protect Milwaukee’s institutions, as well as due process for people in the judicial process. 

Tim Muth, senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Wisconsin, said in a statement that “such actions create fear among immigrant members of our community coming to the courthouse to seek justice as crime victims or witnesses.”  Muth added, “Research by the ACLU has shown that when ICE is known to be active in courthouses, members of the immigrant community are less likely to report crimes, less likely to cooperate with police and prosecutors, and less likely to make their court appearances. Our communities become less safe as a consequence.” 

In 2017, according to the ACLU’s “Freezing Out Justice” report, a survey sample of police officers reported that immigrants appeared less likely to report crimes after immigration operations conducted during Trump’s first term. Crime victims and witnesses were reluctant to assist police due to the fear of being deported. Legal service providers who worked with immigrant communities also reported encountering that victims chose to stay in abusive or dangerous situations rather than expose themselves to ICE operations. 

Muth and the ACLU call on the Milwaukee County court system and sheriff’s office to prevent similar actions in the future. “The last thing we want is to interfere with the legal process or sow doubt in those summoned to the courthouse about whether or not they will receive fair, impartial justice,” said Crowley. “I will continue working with our partners across the county and state to maintain safety and justice for all.”

The Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression also condemned the arrests. “We take this to be a sign of heightened racist and political repression against immigrants,” the Alliance said in a statement. “Furthermore, we are concerned by the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office acceptance of these arrests, stating that it’s not uncommon practice for agencies to access databases of people scheduled to appear before court. There is already very little trust with the MCSO, and now people have to fear for their safety inside the courthouse?”

The activist group, which has called for civilian oversight of law enforcement in Milwaukee County, stressed that people use the courthouse for all sorts of reasons, most of which are not related to criminal activity. “With today’s arrests, there is a further stigma placed on immigrants who enter the courthouse, making them feel even more criminalized,” the Alliance said in a statement. “We need city and county officials like the Sheriff to take a clear stance against ICE operating in Milwaukee. Sheriff [Denita] Ball has the authority to not collaborate with ICE, but this is a sign that she may very well choose to do so.” 

(Photo: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

Four county sheriffs in Wisconsin have signed agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in recent months stating they’ll cooperate with the federal agency on immigration enforcement actions. 

Since March, Washington, Waupaca, Winnebago and Wood counties have signed onto ICE’s Warrant Service Officer program, which authorizes sheriff’s deputies to serve immigration warrants against undocumented immigrants in the county jail, according to an updated ICE list of participating agencies across the country. 

These four counties have joined eight others that already had existing agreements with the agency prior to the inauguration of President Donald Trump. 

In January, Tim Muth, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Wisconsin, told the Wisconsin Examiner these agreements were a method the Trump administration would use to find allies in its effort to deport millions of undocumented people. 

“What they do indicate is which are the counties who have already raised their hands and said, ‘we are happy to assist with deporting people from the state,’ and I anticipate that the Trump administration is going to start with that list and say ‘we know who our allies are in this in the state of Wisconsin,’” Muth said. “Let’s see if one: We can get more allies signing these agreements, and, two: For the ones who already have, let’s see what we can do to get them more active in this area.”

Immigrant rights advocates say the pre-existing agreements with ICE were hardly used under President Joe Biden, but under Trump they can be used to deport any undocumented person in the jail, even if they’re there for a low-level offense or before they can defend themselves in court against the charges they’re accused of. 

Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature have been pushing for more county sheriffs to participate in these types of programs, authoring a bill that would require counties to verify the citizenship status of people in custody for a felony offense and notify ICE if citizenship cannot be verified. It would also require sheriffs to comply with detainers and administrative warrants received from the federal Department of Homeland Security for people held in the county jail for a criminal offense.

Under the proposed legislation, counties that don’t comply would lose 15% of their shared revenue payments from the state in the next year. 

Members of SEIU and Voces de la Frontera arrive at the Capitol Tuesday | Wisconsin Examiner photo

Online rumors warning of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) patrols around polling places in Milwaukee and Madison appear to be unfounded. The reports circulated on social media claiming that there would be “more than 5,000 ICE agents patrolling the areas” in the two cities, as voters went to the polls to cast ballots in the April 1 election for candidates running for  Wisconsin Supreme Court, state superintendent, and referendum questions focusing on voter ID. 

Anxieties about ICE activities have been heightened under the Trump Administration. Recent weeks have seen videos showing plain-clothes, masked ICE agents detaining people on the street. Some of the detainees had been arrested after participating in activist activities, such as protests calling for an end to the war in Gaza. Fears of ICE raids have increased  in Milwaukee and Madison, as in other cities. 

Spokespersons for Milwaukee and Madison city government told Wisconsin Examiner that they have not heard any reports, complaints, or notifications about ICE agents at polling places. A spokesperson for the ICE office in Milwaukee said, “due to our operational tempo and the increased interest in our agency, we are not able to research and respond to rumors or specifics of routine daily operations for ICE.”

Meanwhile, turnout in Milwaukee has been so high that local news outlets are reporting that polling sites across the city have run out of ballots. The city’s Election’s Commission is arranging for fresh ballots to be sent to polling stations. In Tuesday’s election Republican-backed Supreme Court candidate and former Wisconsin attorney general Brad Schimel is facing off  against Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, who has the backing of state Democrats. In the  state superintendent’s race, incumbent Jill Underly is facing challenger Brittany y Kinser. Wisconsinites will also get to decide whether the state’s constitution should be amended to codify a voter ID requirement.