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Illegal Immigrant Charged in Third Fatal Crash, This One in Waukesha County

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Top Facts
  • Israel Martinez Lopez is accused of killing his passenger in a reckless crash in the Town of Lisbon, in Waukesha County, this month.
  • There is an ICE hold on him in the jail. He is in the country illegally, sources say.
  • He was driving almost twice the speed limit, the criminal complaint says.
  • He was previously cited for speeding and driving without a license in 2019 in Waukesha County.
  • It’s the third fatal crash involving an illegal immigrant in southeastern Wisconsin in just over 2 months.
  • One of those illegal immigrants doesn’t have an ICE hold on him because Milwaukee County refuses to cooperate with ICE, meaning he could theoretically walk out of the jail door if he posts bail.
  • Only 8 Wisconsin Sheriff’s Departments have partnerships with ICE to screen jail inmates for immigration status.

A third illegal immigrant has been charged in a fatal Wisconsin crash in southeastern Wisconsin in just over two months, this one in Waukesha County, Wisconsin Right Now has learned.

Israel martinez lopez
Israel martinez lopez

Israel Martinez Lopez has an ICE detainer hold on him in the Waukesha County Jail, Sheriff Eric Severson confirmed to Wisconsin Right Now. Severson could not provide additional details due to ICE rules, but a non-Sheriff’s Department source confirmed to WRN that Lopez is in the United States illegally.

In just over two months:

  • On Jan. 1, Juan Felix-Avendano is accused of killing a Special Olympian and severely injuring his elderly mother in a horrific drunk-driving crash in Milwaukee County. There is no immigration hold on him because the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Department refuses to cooperate with ICE.
  • On Dec. 12, 2022, Ernest Regalado Rodriguez is accused of driving drunk and killing another motorist, 20-year-old nurse Johanna Pascoe in Caledonia, Wisconsin. He has an immigration hold in the Racine County Jail, according to records obtained by Wisconsin Right Now.

Lopez is accused of killing his passenger in a fatal crash in the Town of Lisbon on Jan. 18, 2023. The criminal complaint said he was traveling 80 in a 45 mph zone, according to witnesses, and crossed the center line. He had no driver’s license, the complaint says. Victim and witness identification was sealed by the court, according to court records. Court Commissioner David Herring set bail at $200,000. A Spanish interpreter was needed.

[See our latest Amazon promo codes for WRN readers here.]

Sheriff Severson has been a leader among sheriffs when it comes to immigration enforcement. The sheriff applied for and received legal status to screen inmates for immigration status in the Waukesha County Jail, a process called 287(g). It’s a dramatic contrast to Milwaukee County, where the Sheriff’s Department has refused to cooperate with ICE about inmates in its jail. Because of Severson’s actions, were Lopez to post bail, ICE would keep him in custody.

According to ICE, the U.S.Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 287(g) Program “enhances the safety and security of communities by creating partnerships with state and local law enforcement agencies to identify and remove non-citizens who are amenable to removal from the United States.”

However, only 8 Wisconsin Sheriff’s Departments participate in it, according to ICE. They are: Brown, Fond du Lac, Lafayette, Manitowoc, Marquette, Sheboygan, Waukesha and Waushara Counties.

The liberal media have focused their stories on criticizing sheriffs who cooperate with ICE. A story posted on the liberal site Urban Milwaukee noted that “between 2006 and 2020, ICE tried to deport over 12,000 immigrants who they picked up from jails and prisons across the state,” painting this as somehow a bad thing. In 2020, only seven Wisconsin sheriffs had signed 287g agreements allowing ICE to screen inmates in their jails for immigration status, the story says. That’s even though the federal government “partially reimburses counties for the cost of incarcerating inmates living in the country without legal permission,” the story says. That’s called the Scaap program.

According to online court records, in 2019, Lopez was cited for speeding and for not having a driver’s license in Waukesha County. He didn’t show up in court in those cases and paid fines. The sheriff’s program is corrections-focused only.

He is charged now with first-degree reckless homicide with use of a dangerous weapon, three counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety with use of a dangerous weapon, and knowingly operating while suspended, causing death.

In a news release, the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department wrote that, on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023, at 11:29 a.m., Waukesha County Communication Center “was advised of a head on collision where a vehicle overturned and was on fire at the intersection of Townline Rd. and Schlei Rd. in the Town of Lisbon.”

Initial investigation “shows a vehicle with two occupants operating northbound on Townline Rd. when it crossed into the southbound lanes of traffic striking another vehicle that was traveling southbound.”

The passenger of the northbound vehicle was pronounced deceased at the scene, the Sheriff’s Department wrote.

“The driver of the northbound vehicle was taken by Flight for Life to Froedtert in Wauwatosa with serious injuries. The driver of the southbound vehicle was transport to Froedtert Menomonee Falls with non-life-threatening injuries.”

According to the Sheriff’s Department: “Menomonee Falls Fire Department and Lisbon Fire Department had a conjoined effort in extricating all occupants from both vehicles. Assistance was provided by Menomonee Falls Police Department, Lannon Police Department, Germantown Police Department, and Merton Community Fire Department. Wisconsin State Patrol assisted with accident reconstruction. Traffic was shut down on Townline Rd. for 4.5 hours during the investigation.”

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(The Center Square) – Josh Schoemann, the only Republican currently in the race for governor next year, is criticizing Gov. Tony Evers’ approach to the next state budget by comparing it to his plans in Washington County.

“In Washington County our budget cycle starts right now, and it’s not due until November. We will propose our budget goals to the County Board in the next couple of months. We will share ‘This is what we’re thinking.’ It gives them months of time to think those through, give us feedback, and [have] that kind of dialogue,” Schoemann explained in an interview on News Talk 1130 WISN.

Schoemann said that is far better than the approach Evers is taking again this year.

“That’s not how government is supposed to work,” Schoemann said. “It’s not the vision of the governor. It’s not the vision of any one person.”

Evers and the Republican legislative leaders who will write the budget have been involved in on-again, off-again budget talks this month. On Thursday, the governor’s office said those talks were off once again because of gridlock in the Senate.

“Ultimately, the Senate needs to decide whether they were elected to govern and get things done or not,” Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback said in a post on X.

Schoemann’s criticism of Evers is nothing new. He has long been a critic of the governor and has turned that criticism up since launching his campaign for governor.

But the recent criticism was also aimed at other Republicans who may jump into the 20206 governor’s race later this year.

“Nobody else in this race on the Republican side, being rumored to this point, has the executive leadership of skills and history to be able to show ‘This is how I’ve done it before, and here’s how we’ll do it Madison,’” Schoemann said. “The results in Washington County speak for themselves.”

Northwoods Congressman Tom Tiffany is also rumored to be looking to get into the Republican race. Before he went to Congress, Tiffany was a Republican lawmaker in Madison.

Businessman and veteran Bill Berrien is also on the short list of likely GOP candidates for 2026.

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Wisconsin Budget Negotiations Reach Impasse Between Evers, Legislature

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin budget negotiations have reached an impasse with both sides pointing fingers at the other in Wednesday afternoon statements.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said Republican Legislative leaders backed out of negotiations after he agreed to “an income tax cut targeting Wisconsin’s middle-class and working families and eliminating income taxes for certain retirees.” He said Republican leaders would not agree to “meaningful increased investments in child care, K-12 schools, and the University of Wisconsin System.”

Republican Assembly leaders said the two sides were "far apart. Senate leaders say Evers’ desires “extend beyond what taxpayers can afford.”

“The Joint Committee on Finance will continue using our long-established practices of crafting a state budget that contains meaningful tax relief and responsible spending levels with the goal of finishing on time,” said a statement from Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Assembly Finance Co-Chairman Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam.

Evers said that there were meetings between the sides every day this week before the impasse.

“I told Republicans I’d support their half of the deal and their top tax priorities – even though they’re very similar to bills I previously vetoed – because I believe that’s how compromise is supposed to work, and I was ready to make that concession in order to get important things done for Wisconsin’s kids,” Evers said.

Senate Republican leadership said that good faith negotiations have occurred since April on a budget compromise.

“Both sides of these negotiations worked to find compromise and do what is best for the state of Wisconsin,” said a statement from Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, and Senate Joint Finance Co-Chairman Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green.

In early May, the Joint Committee on Finance took 612 items out of Gov. Tony Evers’ budget proposal, including Medicaid expansion in the state, department creations and tax exemptions.

Born previously estimated that Evers’ budget proposal would lead to $3 billion in tax increases over the two-year span.

Wisconsin Policy Forum estimated that the proposal would spend down more than $4 billion of the state’s expected $4.3 billion surplus if it is enacted.

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DOJ Begins California Title IX Investigation Over ‘Trans’ Boys Dominating Girls’ Sports

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division announced it is investigating California for violating Title IX by allowing males to participate in female student sports.

“Title IX exists to protect women and girls in education,” said Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general for Civil Rights. “It is perverse to allow males to compete against girls, invade their private spaces, and take their trophies.”

In February, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning males from participating in female student sports, and he has threatened to block California's federal funding for continuing to defy his order. With California facing deficits in the tens of billions of dollars each year, it's unclear how the state would offset any losses or pauses in federal funding.

Notably, California Gov. Gavin Newsom hosted conservative pundit Charlie Kirk on his podcast and told Kirk that he thinks it’s “deeply unfair” that boys are participating in girls’ sports.

When asked later at a press conference what this means for state policy, Newsom demurred, painting the matter as a marginal, non-issue not worth his time.

“You're talking about a very small number of people, a very small number of athletes, and my responsibility is to address the pressing issues of our time,” said Newsom.

The California Interscholastic Federation, which governs student sports in California, has since responded to Trump’s threat by announcing a new pilot program to allow girls who otherwise would have qualified for sports finals had the finalist spots in girls’ sports not been taken by transgender-identifying boys to participate in said finals.

Title IX was signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1972 to ensure that schools could not discriminate against female students. It requires they be provided with equal opportunities to engage in athletics, extracurriculars and education.

DOJ’s letter of interest says it is investigating whether California’s Assembly Bill 1266, which requires transgender-identifying students to be allowed to participate in sports consistent with their gender identities, violates Title IX.

“As a result of CIF’s policy, California’s top-ranked girls’ triple jumper, and second-ranked girls’ long-jumper, is a boy,” wrote the DOJ. “As recently as May 17, this male athlete was allowed to take winning titles that rightfully belong to female athletes in both events.”

“This male athlete will now be allowed to compete against those female athletes again for a state title in long, triple, and high jump,” continued the DOJ. “Other high school female athletes have alleged that they were likewise robbed of podium positions and spots on their teams after they were forced to compete against males.”

Should the DOJ find California is in violation of Title IX, it says it will “take appropriate action to eliminate that discrimination, including seeking injunctive relief.”