Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, who is running as a Democrat for governor, unleashed a sweeping attack against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) on Monday, introducing a plan that, if implemented, would endanger agents’ lives, make it harder to arrest criminals, and subject officers to damaging lawfare.
Rodriguez, who has been very low-key as lieutenant governor without any significant accomplishments, called on “Wisconsin legislators, county officials, mayors, and local councils to take immediate action” to make it harder for ICE to arrest illegal immigrants, including those who commit crimes.
That’s just the start of Rodriguez’s wholesale attack on the agency, which came in the wake of the shooting of Renee Good, an anti-ICE agitator who drove into an agent after defying orders. Many use-of-force experts and trained law enforcement officers have provided detailed explanations of why the Good shooting, while certainly tragic, was legally justified force. You can read those analyses here.
However, Rodriguez’s plan goes far beyond that one case and amounts to a wholesale attack on the agency and the officers who work for it. If implemented, her plan would dramatically hinder the agency’s ability to get illegal immigrants who commit crimes out of Wisconsin.
Here are some examples of illegal immigrants accused of crimes in Wisconsin that ICE has targeted for removal recently:
- In Fond du Lac, illegal immigrants were accused of conspiring to rape a 12-year-old girl.
- In Fitchburg, a Honduran citizen was accused of repeatedly raping a 6-year-old.
- In Milwaukee, an illegal immigrant was accused of killing a Special Olympian in a horrific drugged and drunk driving crash and injuring his elderly parents.
- In Oconto County, an illegal immigrant was accused of killing a retired police officer.
- There were 21 non-citizens in the Milwaukee County Jail in a snapshot last spring, where they were being held on offenses ranging from first-degree intentional homicide to weapons offenses and sexual assault of a child.
There are many similar examples.
Rodriguez is trying to stand out in a crowded Democratic candidate field, by launching a wholesale attack on the agency. Other Democratic candidates for Wisconsin governor have already issued extreme statements and plans attacking the agency; Mandela Barnes was previously photographed holding an “abolish ICE” shirt, and Francesa Hong called ICE agents “enforcers of fascism,” demanding the dismantling of the federal agency. Republican candidates Tom Tiffany and Josh Schoemann have supported law enforcement.
In a press release, she also unleashed an attack on Wisconsin law enforcement officers as a whole, saying that she wanted to open them up more easily to lawsuits. Federal, state and local officers currently have qualified and state level immunity. In that passage, Rodriguez made it clear she wasn’t just referring to federal officers. She called for “allowing individuals to sue any officer — federal or otherwise — who knowingly violates constitutional rights,” including for punitive damages.
Since Mandela Barnes is trying to run from his radical record, I’m launching #MandelaMondays to remind voters who he really is.
He supports abolishing ICE. That means he wants criminal illegal aliens to stay in Wisconsin and take your jobs instead of being deported. pic.twitter.com/BoMM77J8zo
— Tom Tiffany (@TomTiffanyWI) December 8, 2025
Some of the provisions in Rodriguez’s January 12 plan include:
- Forcing ICE agents to “unmask” themselves, which would allow them to be doxxed, harassed, and could imperil their personal safety. ICE explains, “ICE law enforcement officers wear masks to prevent doxing, which can (and has) placed them and their families at risk. All ICE law enforcement officers carry badges and credentials and will identify themselves when required for public safety or legal necessity.”
- Allowing people to sue ICE agents, which could open a floodgate of lawfare to destroy agents’ lives and would paralyze their ability to do their jobs. And, as noted, she wants this to apply to all law enforcement.
- Making it much tougher for ICE to make arrests, including of illegal immigrants who commit crimes and including in courthouses.
“No one should be afraid to drop off their kids at school, seek medical care, go to court, or attend worship because enforcement actions are happening without clear rules or accountability,” Rodriguez said, although she offered no examples to document these claims.
In each case, Rodriguez adds a caveat.
The lawsuits are for alleged constitutional violations, and she would allow arrests at courthouses with a judicial warrant or if there an imminent public safety threat. She would allow arrests with a judicial warrant.
However, this would be a dramatic restriction on ICE’s ability to operate effectively.
Currently, ICE often uses administrative warrants so agents can act rapidly when they get intelligence about the locations of illegal immigrants, including people with criminal records or who are accused of crimes. This authority derives from the Immigration and Nationality Act because most immigration violations are generally civil in nature.
ICE officers “are sworn federal law enforcement officers who operate within the confines of the law. Section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act provides ICE officers the authority to arrest aliens without a judicial warrant,” ICE explains. The agency notes:
- “In fact, no judge in this country has the authority to issue a warrant for a civil immigration violation. Congress, by statute, vested this authorization solely to supervisory immigration officers.”
- “Local police officers don’t need a warrant when they encounter someone breaking the law in a public space, and the same holds true for ICE officers.”
Rodriguez tried to imply that her plan doesn’t affect illegal immigrants CONVICTED of violent crimes. “If someone is convicted of a violent crime and is in the country unlawfully, federal law requires deportation,” Rodriguez said.
However, a review of ICE detainer requests for people ACCUSED OF crimes in the Dane County Jail previously found that the Jail was rejecting holds on even violent criminals. Thus, if those people bailed out before sentencing or weren’t in jail yet, ICE would have less power to go get them under Rodriguez’s plan. It’s also unclear how Rodriguez is defining a violent crime.
“Let me be very clear, ICE does not conduct patrols, raids, or sweeps looking for illegal aliens. Individuals and groups making such accusations are doing nothing but fearmongering and in turn, putting the public and our officers at risk. ICE strictly conducts targeted enforcement actions and continues to focus its limited resources first and foremost on those who pose the greatest threat to public safety,” said John Fabbricatore, acting field office director, ICE ERO, Denver, in a statement on the agency’s website.
“Our officers are professionals who uphold the law as written by Congress. If anyone has an issue with the law, they need to take it to their Congressional representative and stop directing their frustrations with the law at federal employees.”
