More Wisconsin Sheriffs Sign-Up To Cooperate With ICE
Participation in controversial 287(g) program nearly doubles.
I.C.E. badge. Photo from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Six more sheriff’s departments in Wisconsin have signed agreements aimed at helping federal immigration authorities identify and deport undocumented residents housed in local jails, according to a new analysis by the ACLU of Wisconsin.
The report, titled “The Jail-to-Deportation Pipeline in Wisconsin,” focuses on what are known as 287(g) agreements signed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and local sheriffs. Under the program, there various models outlining the immigration responsibilities sheriffs agree to when signing the contract with ICE.
One is called the Warrant Service Officer Model, in which ICE authorizes sheriff’s departments to serve administrative warrants from the agency to undocumented individuals being held in local jails for state-level violations. Another is called the Jail Enforcement Model, in which ICE authorizes the sheriff’s department to identify and detain undocumented individuals until immigration authorities are able to pick them up for potential deportation.
The ACLU report states that sheriffs in Kewaunee, Outagamie, Washington, Waupaca, Winnebago and Wood counties have signed 287(g) agreements with ICE. That brings the total number of departments with ICE contracts to 13.
ACLU Senior Staff Attorney Tim Muth told WPR his organization doesn’t believe local law enforcement has authority under state law and the Wisconsin Constitution to act as immigration officials.
“What doesn’t exist in Wisconsin law is the right to arrest somebody for violating immigration law or for being removable from the country by ICE,” Muth said. “And without that authority, you can’t deprive people of their liberty by continuing to hold them in a jail just because ICE makes a voluntary request.”
Muth said the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office and the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office recently opted out of the 287(g) program. Neither sheriff responded to requests for comment.
One sheriff who started using the program in June told WPR it’s about formalizing pre-existing partnerships with the federal government, saying it’s no different than assisting the FBI.
ICE sent more than 1,000 detainer requests to Wisconsin law enforcement during first 6 months of 2025
According to federal data compiled by the ACLU, more than 1,000 ICE detainers were sent to jail facilities in Wisconsin between Jan. 1 and June 10.
The 287(g) program and the ICE detainers are controversial. The advocacy group American Immigration Council claims the program has been costly for local law enforcement and “has historically targeted individuals with little or no criminal history” and erodes trust between undocumented individuals and police.
Some sheriffs in Wisconsin reject ICE detainers for undocumented individuals held in their jails. This month, the Dane County Sheriff’s Office denied a request to hand over custody of a woman accused of killing two teens when driving drunk. Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said deporting the suspect before trial equates to a “get out of jail free card.” In response, an official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security accused Dane County of being a “sanctuary jurisdiction.”
Federal government sent more than $7M to Wisconsin agencies that share data on suspected undocumented individuals
The ACLU’s analysis also touches on the federal government’s State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, or SCAAP, that offers to reimburse local law enforcement for housing undocumented individuals charged with a felony or two concurrent misdemeanors. To get the funds, state and local law enforcement agencies must share information with ICE about incarcerated individuals believed to be undocumented.
The analysis found that between 2021 and 2024, $7,258,616 went to 29 state sheriffs’ departments and the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.
“What this really does is gives sheriffs’ offices incentives to determine the immigration status of people who are serving sentences in their jail, and then provide a set of data about these individuals,” Muth said. “You know, their name, their address, what they were convicted of.”
Kewaunee County sheriff says new ICE agreement is about accountability and cooperation between law enforcement
One of the newest 287(g) agreements in Wisconsin was signed by Kewaunee County Sheriff Matt Joski in June, according to the ACLU report. In an interview with WPR, he said he’s interested in ICE’s Warrant Service Officer Model and Jail Enforcement Model, but he said his department hasn’t actually participated in the program yet because he’s been waiting since April for ICE to schedule training for his deputies.
“We have to make sure we’re treating everybody with dignity, with compassion,” Joski said. “However, we also want to make sure we’re holding people accountable, and I think that piece has been getting lost in a lot of the recent conversation, where nobody wants to talk about accountability.”
Joski said there are multiple levels of accountability for undocumented individuals who break laws in Wisconsin. He said in addition to being held accountable for their state violations, they also need to be held accountable for entering the country illegally.
That creates what Joski described as “the hard part,” deciding whether an undocumented individual should be tried in Wisconsin for potentially violent crimes under state law or be deported by ICE before a state trial is concluded.
“You know, that’s beyond my scope to decide,” Joski said. “But that, I think, becomes the complication. Now you’ve got these two parallel paths that a single individual is now on a journey of, right? You’re both here illegally, where you have that issue, and then they’re committing crimes locally, where now you’ve got a new process.”
Joski said under the agreement, he doesn’t believe his department would be able to delay immigration proceedings until after a conviction. Regardless, Joski said, law enforcement’s role is to hold people accountable breaking local, state and federal law. He said the 287(g) agreement with ICE is a way to make sure “dysfunction between levels of government doesn’t create an environment where there’s a lack of accountability.”
Report: 6 more Wisconsin sheriffs sign cooperative agreements with ICE in 2025 was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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