Board Passes Resolution In Opposition To ICE Entering Courthouse Unlawfully

Milwaukee County Courthouse. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution Thursday expressing opposition to perceived unlawful acts by immigration agents in the Milwaukee County Courthouse. It even drew support from conservative members who support an immigration crackdown.

The resolution was authored in response to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) entering the county courthouse to arrest immigrants participating in the judicial process as defendants facing local criminal charges.

Elected officials, attorneys and civic leaders have criticized the arrests, saying they are disrupting the individual’s rights to due process and chilling immigrant participation in the circuit court system as defendants, witnesses and victims.

Two men were arrested in March and April, respectively. Most recently, agents attempted to arrest an individual on April 18, presenting a warrant to Chief Judge Carl Ashley, who asked them to wait until the court hearing ended. The individual was later arrested and is in federal custody, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Wednesday.

“Due process is a non negotiable in this country… What we need to reiterate is that here, us, as county supervisors, we are the adults in the room, and we need to maintain cool heads if we are going to get out of this lunacy that is plaguing our country every single day,” Sup. Juan Miguel Martinez, who sponsored the resolution, told his colleagues. 

The resolution considered calls for the County Executive, Office of Corporation Counsel, Sheriff and Chief Judge to work together to “ensure access to services and safeguard every individual’s constitutional right to due process;” and supports efforts to educate residents about their rights.

Milwaukee County Corporation Counsel Scott Brown told supervisors at a meeting this month that his office had already begun working with administration and court officials on a policy “to deal with future incidents.” The policy has not been released, yet, but Ashley previewed one aspect of the draft policy in an email he sent.

When the ICE agents arrived on April 18, they were asked if they had a warrant. The warrant and identification were presented. They were asked to present the warrant to the chief judge. They did and his office made a copy of the warrant. They were asked to wait until the hearing concluded.

“All of the agent’s actions were consistent with our draft polices, but we’re still in the process of conferring on the draft,” Ashley wrote to colleagues.

The board passed the resolution with 17 votes in favor and one abstention. Sup. Patti Logsdon, who declined to vote at an earlier committee meeting out of fear that doing so could lead to legal repercussions, reiterated her concern during the board meeting Thursday before abstaining.

“This is a reaction, frankly, to an overstep that we’re seeing happen within our space,” Sup. Caroline Gómez-Tom said Thursday. “We, all elected, have made an oath to the Constitution of the United States, as well as the Wisconsin constitution, to protect the rights of our community and due process.”

Sup. Deanna Alexander, a conservative-leaning independent, and Sup. Steve Taylor, a conservative, both voted in favor of the policy.

Alexander told her colleagues that she supports lawful immigration, as well as fixing the nation’s “very broken” immigration system.

“I believe that we can’t abandon the rule of law or the humanity behind the rule of law, even individuals who are here unlawfully or who are awaiting asylum or amnesty hearings, they’re guaranteed certain rights under US law, including the right to due process,” Alexander said. The supervisor also said “mass detentions, indefinite incarceration without trial, those are the very things that our system work was designed to prevent.”

Taylor criticized Biden-era immigration policies, but said he did not believe due process should be tossed out in an effort to reverse it. He also expressed concern that the arrests would chill judicial participation from witnesses and victims of crimes if they do not have U.S. citizenship.

“There are so many good people that are here illegally. They’re part of our workforce, they’re part of our community, And to kick them out, I think, is inhumane,” Taylor said, adding that there are also “criminals” and “awful human beings” that “need to get the hell out of here.”

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