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No.

Wisconsin sheriffs have discretion on whether to report a person booked into county jails to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a Racine County Republican, alluded to the background checking Feb. 25.

Vos spoke about an Assembly bill he co-sponsored that would require sheriffs to request proof of legal presence status from individuals jailed for a felony offense.

Former Brown County Sheriff John Gossage, executive director of the Badger State Sheriffs’ Association, said most Wisconsin sheriffs report to ICE a person who is jailed on a felony charge and doesn’t have proof, such as a Social Security number or immigration visa, of legal presence in the U.S.

ICE can ask, but jails are not required, to hold a person for 48 hours if ICE wants to pick up that person for an alleged immigration violation. 

Milwaukee County doesn’t report inmate immigration status to ICE. Dane County also doesn’t assist ICE.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• Meg Ellefson Show: Guest: Speaker Robin Vos 022525
• Wisconsin State Legislature: 2025 Assembly Bill 24
• John Gossage, executive director of the Badger State Sheriffs’ Association: Email, March 4, 2025
• ACLU of Wisconsin: ACLU of Wisconsin Condemns Proposed Legislation Compelling County Sheriffs to Collaborate with ICE
• U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: Immigration Detainers
• WisconsinEye: Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety
• Wisconsin State Legislature: Assembly Bill 24 history
• Wisconsin Public Radio: Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office No Longer Working With ICE
• CBS 58: GOP immigration bill would require Milwaukee to help ICE or lose state funding
• Madison Reporter: Dane County Sheriff’s Office will not share immigration data with ICE: ‘We do not plan to participate in federal enforcement efforts’
• Wisconsin Public Radio: Wisconsin sheriffs would have to cooperate with ICE under GOP proposal

Are Wisconsin sheriffs required to check the immigration status of people in jail? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.