There has been a lot of misinformation being spread on social media regarding the deportation of immigrants.
The Sheboygan and Appleton Police Departments both had situations where social media posts indicated that officers had arrested illegal immigrants for deportation.
Both situations were deemed to be not portrayed factually, leading to some confusion about what local police can and cannot do.
Manitowoc County Sheriff Dan Hartwig cleared the air on WOMT’s Be My Guest program.
“Wisconsin law enforcement agencies, generally, do not have authority to enforce federal immigration laws unless there is a specific agreement with the federal government.”
He noted that immigration enforcement is, more often than not, conducted by agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, more commonly referred to as ICE, or Customs and Border Protection, or CBP.
However, local law enforcement can enter into a 287(g) agreement with the federal government, where officers can make immigration arrests only after receiving the proper training and authority.
Sheriff Hartwig noted that while Manitowoc County has entered into such an agreement, Sheriff’s Deputies are still not allowed to make immigration arrests.
“The agreement is signed and in place, but we still have yet to receive the training from ICE,” Hartwig noted. “We signed it in 2020,(but) in 2021, when the previous administration took over, they ended up putting an immediate stop to any 287(g) agreements.”
But that could change in the near future.
“(I was) contacted by Immigrations and Customs last month, who wants to get that fired up again, and we agreed to do it,” he explained. “But, obviously, they’re very busy with directives they’ve gotten from the top, so we still haven’t gotten that training yet.”
Hartwig also noted that he was part of a Zoom call with Border Czar Tom Homan, who outlined what the plan is for immigration enforcement.
Hartwig said that Hoban told Sheriffs around the country, “He wanted to get the most violent people out of the country. We’ve been more than happy to help with that.”
The local sheriff explained that his deputies aren’t out searching for illegal immigrants, but rather, the department is holding a specific subset of individuals for ICE.
Specifically, “People who are already committing crimes in our community and they’re getting served their warrants in the confines of the county jail.”
Hartwig noted that, since 2021, the Sheriff’s Office has had 30 ICE detainers in the Manitowoc County Jail.
Three of those people were sent to prison, five were detained by ICE, five were released, three were sent to the US Marshals, one was sent to another county due to a warrant, and two are currently in custody in the Manitowoc County Jail.
You can hear Sheriff Hartwig’s full statement at SeehaferPodcasts.com.
