Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has vetoed a bill that would have ensured that sheriffs cooperate with ICE detainers to hold criminal illegals in JAILS. As we previously reported, although many sheriffs do honor ICE detainers, some sheriffs do not.
For example, in Dane County, the sheriff refused to honor 90% of ICE holds, including for accused violent criminals.
This bill would have required Wisconsin sheriffs “to request proof of legal presence status from individuals held in a county jail for an offense punishable as a felony. The bill also requires sheriffs to comply with detainers and administrative warrants received from the federal department of homeland security regarding individuals held in the county jail for a criminal offense,” according to the non-partisan Legislative Reference Bureau.
The veto was part of a Friday night veto rampage by the administration of Evers and Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, who is running for governor.
Evers’ veto message focused on the fiscal penalty included in the bill, although that would only apply if sheriffs did not cooperate.
February 12, 2025 – Introduced by Representatives Vos, Piwowarczyk, Allen, Armstrong, August, Behnke, Brill, Callahan, Dallman, Dittrich, Donovan, Duchow, Goeben, Green, Gundrum, Hurd, B. Jacobson, Knodl, Kreibich, Krug, Maxey, Murphy, Mursau, Nedweski, O’Connor, Penterman, Petersen, Sortwell, Spiros, Steffen, Swearingen, Tittl, Tucker, Tusler, Wichgers and Zimmerman, cosponsored by Senators Bradley, Jacque, Kapenga, Nass, Quinn, Testin, Tomczyk and Wanggaard.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill requires sheriffs to request proof of legal presence status from individuals held in a county jail for an offense punishable as a felony. The bill also requires sheriffs to comply with detainers and administrative warrants received from the federal department of homeland security regarding individuals held in the county jail for a criminal offense.
Under the bill, sheriffs must annually certify to the Department of Revenue that they have complied with each of these requirements. If a sheriff fails to provide such a certification, DOR must reduce the county’s shared revenue payments for the next year by 15 percent. The bill also requires sheriffs to maintain a record of the number of individuals from whom proof of legal presence is requested who are verified as unlawfully present in this state and a list of the types of crimes for which those individuals were confined in the jail. The information must be provided to the Department of Justice upon request, and DOJ must compile the information and submit a report to the legislature.
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