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Ozaukee County sheriff rescinds ICE contract
The ACLU of Wisconsin recently discovered that local Wisconsin county sheriffs made deals with ICE to house and transport detained immigrants.
OZAUKEE COUNTY, Wis. - The new federal budget law pumps billions of dollars into deportation efforts, including for detentions.
Federal immigration agents are looking to local jails to help detain immigrants, and some Wisconsin county sheriffs have agreed to help.
What we know:
New deals show who is now open to housing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees. At least three Wisconsin county sheriffs, in Ozaukee, Brown and Sauk counties, signed recent deals with ICE, according to documents the ACLU of Wisconsin obtained through open record requests.
Ozaukee County Sheriff Christy Knowles in March signed an agreement to hold immigration detainees inside the county's jail. ICE was going to pay Ozaukee County $80 a day, per detainee.
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It would not be the county's first time; records from 2004 show the Ozaukee County jail housed ICE detainees at that time.
After FOX6's stories about the 2025 contract ran Monday afternoon, Ozaukee County Undersheriff Marshall Hermann told FOX6 News that the sheriff actually rescinded the deal due to discrepancies about medical care provisions found in the contract.
"Although the contract was signed, it is not in effect or being utilized," Hermann said.
On Monday morning, FOX6 requested an interview to discuss the contract, but Hermann said they couldn't do one on "short notice."
At that time, the office shared data that three inmates in the county jail had ICE detainers, meaning if the person becomes eligible for release, the jail will hold the person for an extra amount of time to allow ICE to detain them.
Ozaukee County Sheriff Christy Knowles on Wednesday explained the reason for rescinding the contract with ICE:
"ICE approached me to inquire about the possibility of housing ICE detainees. I informed ICE that I could consider such an arrangement only if their contract mirrored the terms and conditions of the existing US Marshal contract, particularly with regard to medical care. Medical staffing and workload are critical components to the operations of the jail and any divergence in medical requirements could adversely impact our ability to meet the needs of current inmates.
"ICE assured me that the medical terms would be identical. Based on that assurance, I agreed to the contract, which was signed on April 10, 2025 and extends through March of 2026. However, after the contract was executed, it became apparent that ICE’s medical protocols diverged significantly from those of the US Marshal’s contract, resulting in additional duties for my jail medial staff. This placed a burden on my jail resources. As such, I made the decision not to accept ICE detainees under these circumstances, as it would have required hiring additional staff, something I am not in the position to do. Therefore, I rescinded the contract."
Knowles said no ICE detainees were housed in the county jail under the contract.
All three inmates with ICE had local charges, so they would have been in the county jail regardless of the sheriff's rescinded contract with ICE.
In the past month, a fourth inmate had local charges and an ICE detainer. The person posted bail on the local charges, but because of the hold, ICE was able to detain that person.
The jail does partner with other federal agencies. Right now it is housing Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, who is being held on behalf of the U.S. Marshals Service.
He's the immigrant at the center of the case of suspended Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan, who is facing charges she helped Flores-Ruiz escape waiting ICE agents outside her courtroom.
In June, he signed a plea agreement to plead guilty. The agreement states the federal government will deport him.
What they're saying:
"Making additional cell space available to ICE makes it possible for ICE to ramp up even more rapidly its process of picking people up, out of our communities in Wisconsin and potentially deporting them," ACLU of Wisconsin Senior Staff Attorney Tim Muth said.
"At the ACLU of Wisconsin, we believe that is not the role of local law enforcement," Muth said.
Brown County Sheriff Todd Delain told news partner WLUK he held 27 ICE inmates in May and June.
"I wanted to make it clear, I don't have the space to hold for long term," Delain said. They could come from anywhere, just like if you had an FBI arrest, a DEA arrest, or a Marshals Service arrest. They could be anywhere in the state, or, for that matter, they could be from the U.P. or anywhere."
Dig deeper:
The Dodge County jail is the only local facility in Wisconsin that ICE lists as a detention facility.
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In January, Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt told FOX6 he didn’t have the space for more ICE detainees, something he now repeats.
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"Our jail has not gotten any bigger. I only have so many beds and there is not additional space beyond what we historically have housed," Schmidt said.
The big budget bill is giving a boost of billions to ICE, which means it is looking for more detention capacity. ICE would not say where it's looking to add jail space, but is exploring options.
Editor's note: This story was updated to add a statement from Knowles after the original air date.
The Source: The information in this post was collected and produced by FOX6 News.