Milwaukee Police Have No Plan If ICE Descends on City
Problems in Minneapolis raise concerns. 'We got to prepare,' mayor says.
The Milwaukee Police Administration Building downtown. (Photo | Isiah Holmes)
The Milwaukee Police Department says it doesn’t have a plan in place if federal immigration authorities mobilize into the city at a scale similar to operations in nearby Chicago and Minneapolis.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched one of the largest operations in its history last week, sending about 2,000 agents into the Twin Cities. That mobilization resulted in an ICE agent shooting and killing 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good Wednesday morning in Minneapolis. Minneapolis schools were closed Thursday because, in a separate incident, ICE agents deployed tear gas at a high school as students were being dismissed.
Late last year, ICE’s “Operation Midway Blitz” similarly sent a large number of federal agents into the Chicago area. While the operation was underway, ICE and other federal agents killed a 38-year-old Mexican man during a traffic stop and in another incident rammed into the car of a woman who was warning neighbors about ICE presence before shooting her five times.
The Chicago operation included at least another dozen incidents in which federal agents pointed their guns or fired less-lethal weapons at residents, according to data compiled by The Trace.
In both cities, the massive presence of immigration authorities has caused significant ripple effects through local communities, straining the ability of local law enforcement to control crowds of observers and protesters and respond to the disruptions in traffic caused by caravans of federal SUVs traveling over city streets.
“Local police departments and many state governors have been very firm in their communication to federal law enforcement that federal law enforcement is not welcome in their cities conducting these sorts of major operations because of the fact that it is so disruptive,” says Ingrid Eagly, a law professor at UCLA who focuses on immigration enforcement. “Because people you know can be injured and harmed, and communities are living in fear. It’s causing a great amount of disruption in communities to have this kind of strong law enforcement presence.”
In cities across the country where ICE agents have been deployed in large numbers, local officials have had to decide how local cops engage with the operations and what that engagement communicates to local residents. Eagly says that operating as “a backup service for unprepared ICE agents” would be using local resources to legitimize ICE’s presence.
“To send in local law enforcement, as backup, as sort of part of the enforcement team, would be essentially being part of the of the federal police force conducting ICE operations,” she says.
The operations in Chicago and Minneapolis, two largely Democratic Midwestern cities that are frequent targets of rhetorical attacks by Republicans, are prominent displays of force in communities similar to Milwaukee. Even though Wisconsin has so far avoided the brunt of the Trump administration’s stepped-up immigration enforcement efforts, that could change.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that the city had to be prepared for the “eventuality” that an ICE surge is coming.
“Given what happened [Wednesday] and the young woman who was killed by a federal agent in Minneapolis, we got to prepare on the ground,” Johnson said.
But when asked if the Milwaukee Police had a plan for managing a potential ICE operation in the city, a spokesperson for the department only pointed to the department’s existing immigration policy.
The department’s immigration policy states that Milwaukee Police officers are not allowed to cooperate with ICE’s civil immigration enforcement actions.
“Proactive immigration enforcement by local police can be detrimental to our mission and policing philosophy when doing so deters some individuals from participating in their civic obligation to assist the police,” the policy states.
But the written policy does not include any provisions for how police personnel should respond in the event of massive ICE presence in the community. Having a noncooperation or “sanctuary” policy could make Milwaukee a target for Trump’s mass deportation program. Despite that, when pressed for clarification because the policy does not state now the department would manage the fallout of an ICE surge, the spokesperson refused to answer.
“It states what our policy [is] in regards to immigration enforcement,” a Milwaukee police spokesperson said in an unsigned email on Tuesday, before the Minneapolis incident. “We do not have an operation like Chicago therefore cannot provide information about a policy of something that we do not have in our city.”
Pressed again for an answer to the specific question about managing the traffic and crowd control implications of a massive ICE operation in Milwaukee, the spokesperson again refused to answer.
“We have an immigration enforcement policy just because you do not like the answer does not mean we are going to answer different to you,” the spokesperson wrote.
After the shooting in Minneapolis, in answer to a follow-up question from the Examiner, the MPD spokesperson again cited the department’s existing policy preventing cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
Milwaukee police don’t have a plan if ICE launches massive operation in the city was originally published by the Wisconsin Examiner.
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I donate half my property tax bill to them. They should have a plan.
The plan for MPD should be to support ICE, arrest anyone that interferes with ICE, support ICE and allow ICE to do their job and to clean up the mess that Biden created back in 2021 when he opened up the southern border.
Re: Bother salmon, that include murdering US citizens in cold blood? Go back to ranting as you watch Newsmax & LindelTV.
ick, jsalmon , we cannot support ice and their behavior. people are not messes. our congressional leaders had many opportunities to figure a pathway to citizenship and didn’t. we need them to act and not some bullies who aren’t trained.
Keep those monsters away from Milwaukee.
the last thing we need is a bunch of goons terrorizing us.
the police department should not admit to having ‘no plan’ ever. at least say, we have an internal group who develops responses to new changes in policy and/or military deployments. it is hard not to see ice as a military force after the shootings of citizens.
The plan should be to serve and protect the citizens they work for. Beyond that they are misinterpreting their job descriptions. This is a great opportunity for them to show us whether they deserve to exist in their current state or if we need drastic change.
@ all of you bleeding heart liberals, Democrats, and progressives; just a short list of the good work ICE is doing cleaning up streets of MPLS.
Sriudorn Phaivan, a Laotian illegal alien convicted of strong-arm sodomy of a boy & strong-arm sodomy of a girl with a deportation order since 2018.
Tou Vang, a Laotian illegal alien convicted of sexual assault and sodomy of a girl under age 13 and procuring a child for prostitution with a deportation order since 2006.
Chong Vue, a Laotian illegal alien convicted of the strong-arm rape of a 12-year-old girl and kidnapping a child with intent to sexually assault her, with a deportation order since 2004,
Ge Yang, a Laotian illegal alien convicted of strong-arm rape, aggravated assault with a weapon, and strangulation with a deportation order since 2012.
Pao Choua Xiong, a Laotian illegal alien convicted of rape and child fondling with a deportation order since 2003.
Kou Lor, a Laotian illegal alien convicted of rape, rape with a weapon, and sexual assault with a deportation order since 1996.
Hernan Cortes-Valencia, Mexican illegal alien convicted of sexual assault of a child and DUI with a deportation order since 2016.
Abdirashid Adosh Elmi, a Somalian illegal alien convicted of homicide.
Gilberto Salguero Landaverde, a Salvadoran illegal alien convicted of three counts of homicide with a deportation order since June 2025.
Gabriel Figueroa Gama, a Mexican illegal convicted of homicide who has been previously deported in 2002.
Galuak Michael Rotgai, a Sudanese illegal alien convicted of homicide.
Thai Lor, a Laotian illegal alien convicted of two counts of homicide with a deportation order since 2009.
Mariana Sia Kanu, an illegal alien from Sierra Leone convicted of two counts of homicide with a deportation order since 2022.
Aldrin Guerrero Munoz, a Mexican illegal alien convicted of homicide with a deportation order since 2015.
Abdirashid Mohamed Ahmed, a Somalian illegal alien convicted of manslaughter with a deportation order since 2022.
Mongong Dual Maniang Deng, a Sudanese illegal alien convicted of attempt to commit homicide, weapon possession, and DUI.
Aler Gomez Lucas, a Guatemalan illegal alien convicted of negligent homicide with a vehicle and DUI with a deportation order since 2022.
Shwe Htoo, a Burmese illegal alien convicted of negligent homicide.
ICE says all of these criminal aliens were roaming freely in the sanctuary state of Minnesota prior to arrest, and that these are the type of people that politicians and activists are referring to as their “neighbors” as they attempt to interfere with ICE.
@ jsalmon yes, there certainly are illegal immigrants who have committed horrible crimes. However, that certainly does not mean that every single immigrant is a criminal. Most are normal people trying to make a better life for themselves as our neighbors.
It would be one thing if ICE was only going after criminals like mentioned in your previous post. However, ICE is doing a poor job of “cleaning up streets” and instead targeting people of color, regardless of citizenship or criminal status. See the below article from June of last year. I would predict that the percentage of no convictions/no violent convictions is even higher by now. This isn’t even touching the recent murders of AMERICAN CITIZENS.
https://www.cato.org/blog/65-people-taken-ice-had-no-convictions-93-no-violent-convictions
All this to say, keep ICE out of Milwaukee.
@WPDZ you’re wrong.
Crossing the border illegally is a federal crime.
18 USC 1325 Illegal Entry. Federal crime.
ah, just undocumented people committing terrible crimes????? how about this president. would you like me to make a list of his documented crimes.
We get it, Salmon, you’re a Trump apologist. But you’re not going to convince everyone to want to treat others inhumanely.
We can all agree that there are laws, that is obvious. Where we disagree is who they are selectively applied to, the way they are enforced, and the damage they cause to society.
@ tornado go ahead play the Trump card. Remember under Obama over 3 million people were deported, where was your outrage.
@ epvana the damage to society is caused by the illegal aliens whose first thought when coming to the USA is to break the law and cross illegally. Let me remind you that Laken Riley was beaten, raped and her head smashed in by a rock by an illegal alien. Let me remind you that 12 year old Jocelyn Nungaray was lured out of her house and then beaten, fought back, raped and her throat slit by 2 illegal aliens. Let me remind you that mom of 5 Rachel Morin was beaten,raped, strangled and her head smashed in with a rock by an illegal alien. Not one democrat called for deportation. Reach out to those families and let them know your feelings on having illegal aliens in this country and all the good they do for the USA.
jsalmon, you listed 18 individuals of the nearly 100,000 ICE detained. That’s less the .001 percent. Those numbers hardly negate the number of legal immigrants following the naturalization process or have legal green cards. It does not negate the number of US citizens who were deported. Yes there have been US citizens deported. It doesn’t negate ICE harassment of Native Americans. It doesn’t negate American citizens who were detained for exercising their constitutional right to peacefully assembled. It also does not negate ICE agents making veiled threats to American citizens observing illegal ICE activity.
This tiny bit of good cannot in anyway justify killing a mother and wife who was NOT impeding ICE vehicles–two vehicles proceeded after she waved them around.
ICE agent behavior is more and more resembling the Gestapo in Nazi Germany.
BTW, just because commenters demonstrate compassion does NOT give you the right to attack and demean. In the Words of Dr. Dan McClellan, you need to grow the beep up.
@mk Obama deported over 3 million illegal aliens.
I was completely on board with that.
Step back into the wayback machine where’s the rage, let’s hear it.
Sorry, jsalmon, you make poor arguments and you’re off track. This article is about MPD’s preparedness in the event of an ICE adventure in Milwaukee.
From my perspective, a load of untrained, uneducated, violent people who are otherwise unfit for less morally reprehensible jobs descending into my city and neighborhood is a far greater danger to our health and safety than a cherry picked list of statistically insignificant scary stories.
@epvana
Murder is, “statistically insignificant.” You’re nuts.
If and when you ever need assistance from law enforcement in any form remind yourself not to dial 911, because they would be “untrained and uneducated violent people,” coming to your aid. maybe call a social worker.
@jsalmon, you’re not even addressing my arguments. Maybe your style of debate is more effective to get emojis on Facebook, but I expect better on this platform. Good luck to you!
@epvana
You’ve said I was a Trump apologist, that’s all I needed to know where you come from. Obama deported over 3 million illegal aliens during his 2 terms and I was all for that. Does that make me an Obama apologist?
Regarding MPD they do have a plan in place, they’re just not sharing it. That’s my guess.
I am all for legal immigration, take a civics class, learn our western culture and customs, pass a test.
If that’s too unreasonable to ask then you don’t belong here.
I am completely against illegal aliens coming across our borders in any way.