Immigration bills resurface in Wisconsin Legislature as opponents eye worker walkouts
MADISON - After sparking a massive Capitol protest last year, legislation cracking down on so-called sanctuary cities is back — and its opponents say they may launch worker walkouts that could hurt dairy farms and other businesses.
Assembly Bill 190 would require police to hold people charged with a crime in jail for up to an additional 48 hours if they are suspected of being in the country illegally. Local governments that didn't go along with that requirement could see their state aid cut by up to $5,000 per day.
Another measure, Assembly Bill 127, would allow Wisconsin residents to sue their local government if they believe federal immigration policies are not being enforced.
The bills come as President Donald Trump tries to deliver on his campaign promise to scale back illegal immigration.
Federal immigration authorities already ask that local governments hold suspected illegal immigrants for an extra 48 hours. Rep. John Spiros (R-Marshfield), the bill's lead sponsor, said he wants to make sure communities in Wisconsin do that.
He emphasized that the bill would affect only immigrants who are accused of committing a crime, saying that those stopped for a traffic violation or who need police assistance wouldn't have their immigration status questioned.
"(The bill) refers to those who violated rules, not those who called for help or assistance," said Spiros, a former police officer.
Opponents say the legislation would make things less safe because it would make undocumented immigrants more afraid to call police when they experience, witness or suspect crimes.
"It's disingenuous to say that if you limit collaboration with immigrants you have lower rates of crime," said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera. "People will think of (immigrants) as dangerous."
She said her group may call for worker strikes — as it did last year and in February — to try to stop the legislation.
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By some estimates, up to 80% of the hired help on large Wisconsin dairy operations is immigrant labor — with a large percentage of those workers being in the country illegally. If those workers are deported or otherwise leave Wisconsin, farms could face financial trouble.
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"Taking away immigrants dramatically reduces the dairy industry in Wisconsin," said John Rosenow, a Buffalo County dairy farmer.
A similar bill passed the Assembly last year in a 62-35 vote but died after a massive protest organized by Voces.
The "Day Without Latinos" protest brought a crowd of roughly 20,000 to Madison to protest that bill and another one limiting the ability of local governments to issue photo IDs.
Spiros said his bill this session has a narrower scope than the last one because it focuses on immigrants accused of committing crimes.
If passed, Assembly Bill 190 would also allow the attorney general, district attorneys and sheriffs to sue cities, towns or villages for not complying with the immigration law.
Assembly Bill 127 would go further by allowing any resident to sue their local government for not complying with federal immigration laws and allow employees of a local government to question someone's immigration status.
No hearings have been scheduled for either bill and it's unclear if they will gain traction. Spokesmen for legislative leaders did not say whether either house planned to take up the measures this session
One focal point of the "Day Without Latinos" protest was immigrants' economic importance in Wisconsin's agriculture industry.
Reviving their efforts from last year's "Day Without Latinos" protest, Voces members delivered empty milk cartons to legislators in June with the saying "Got Milk? Not without Immigrants."
Last year, the strike lasted one day. Farmers and businesses that employ immigrants were warned in advance so they could make arrangements.
If the bill advances, strikes could extend from a single day, as they did with the "Day Without Latinos" protest in Madison, to two days or even a week — possibly without notifying employers beforehand, Neumann-Ortiz said.
If workers walk off without notice, it could be devastating to the dairy industry because of the need to milk cows every day, Rosenow said.
"A lack of employees for hours would cause a lot of dead cows," Rosenow said.
Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr., an avid supporter of Trump's tough stance on immigration, asked the federal government in March to grant his officers immigration responsibilities in the county jail and community.
"This, as I have indicated, is a process. That process continues to move forward," Clarke said in an email to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
If Spiros' bill is approved, Clarke could sue any city, town or village in Milwaukee County that he believes isn't complying. If found guilty, that local government would see its funding cut.
Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn has faced criticism from Voces for changing the department's policies. At the request of the federal Department of Justice, Flynn's officers "shall inform" U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of any details on a "suspected illegal immigrant" when that individual is arrested for a felony.
Flynn, unlike Clarke, has said he doesn't want to deputize his officers with ICE responsibilities.