Trump's immigration policies; impact on Wisconsin agencies
MILWAUKEE - The new president is pledging to deport millions.
So, what does that mean for your local police officers?
Trump's immigration stance
What we know:
President Donald Trump pledged big changes on immigration. One is to send troops to the southern border.
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The backstory:
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers already acted on this issue back in 2019, during President Trump's first term. In his first few months in office, Evers ordered Wisconsin National Guard troops to stop helping with border security. More than 100 had been on the southern border. At the time, Evers said it was the job of border patrol.

Right after taking office for a second time, Trump said he'll declare a national emergency at the southern border. He also promises to reinstate his remain in Mexico policy, end a process he calls "catch and release" and send troops to the southern border, as well as designate drug cartels as "foreign terrorist organizations."
"All illegal entry will be immediately halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came," Trump said during his inaugural address.
Changes coming
What we know:
The new administration promises those deportations will start as soon as this week.
"I won't categorize them as raids. They're going to be targeted enforcement operations. When ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] goes out, they're going to know exactly who they're looking for, pretty much where they'll find them. It's a well-planned operation," Trump's border czar Tom Homan said in an interview with FOX News Live. "They'll know who's possibly in the household, including children. This is a well-planned enforcement operation. Every target of this operation is well-planned.

"First week. I mean, we have got over 700,000 illegal aliens in the United States with final orders of removal," he continued. "President Trump has been clear from day one, from the campaign on to today that he's going to secure the border and he's going to have the deportation operation. There has to be consequences for violating our laws."
The other side:
It's a worry for Wisconsin citizens with families who are undocumented, those people who came to the country or are staying in the country illegally.

"Let’s say we do have raids, and do go through their promise of mass deportation, like who’s going to work the jobs that people don’t want to work, right?" pondered Deisy Espana, whose father is undocumented. "It’s absolutely normal to be scared and to not know what to do, but to also recognize that this is our home. That there are certain things people can do and we just have to be ready to fight."
Local response
Local perspective:
In Wisconsin, ICE has one listed detention facility: the Dodge County Jail.
"My jail cannot hold more than what we already hold each day, so the upcoming detention of individuals who are in our country illegally will only be able to come here as space becomes available," Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt said. "There will be no larger numbers for us; it will be business as usual."
The Milwaukee Police Department, in its standard operating procedures, noted immigration law is the responsibility of the federal government.
What they're saying:
The official policies state MPD officers shall not ask someone they're arresting about their citizenship, nor shall they ask for additional papers, like passports, visas or green cards, in lieu, or in addition to a regular ID. Nor shall MPD officers arrest someone solely for being suspected of violating immigration law.

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MPD's policies state:
"With a policing philosophy that is community-based, problem-oriented, and data-driven, we are committed to ridding the city’s streets of violent offenders regardless of whether such offenders are in the United States legally or illegally. We are also committed to facilitating safe, sustainable communities where individuals are encouraged to report crime and provide the police with useful information and intelligence. However, proactive immigration enforcement by local police can be detrimental to our mission and policing philosophy when doing so deters some individuals from participating in their civic obligation to assist the police."
However, MPD can help federal agents if there's a judge's warrant for a person suspected of things like:
- Terrorism
- Espionage
- Transnational criminal street gang
- A violent felony
- Sexual offense against a minor
- A previously deported felon
- A serious felony that could pose a threat
Likewise, the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office policies say deputies are not to arrest, detain or question someone based solely on suspicion they are in the country illegally.
In an email, a spokesman for the department added: "As a general practice, the MCSO does not ask crime victims or witnesses, etc., their immigration status. However, when an individual is booked into the Milwaukee County Jail, ‘birth country’ and ‘citizenship’ are mandatory fields in our corrections management software. This information is self-reported."
"We cannot maintain policies or practices restricting communication and information sharing between ICE and MCSO personnel. This prohibition is articulated in 8 U.S. Code Section 1373, with which we comply," wrote Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office spokesman James Burnett.
The Waukesha County Sheriff's Department has an agreement with ICE. In 2018, the department stated that everyone arrested or brought into the county's jail would be screened for immigration status.
The Source: The information in this post was produced by FOX6 News.