Student organizations march in support of immigrant rights
By: Jack Zeller /The Daily Cardinal - November 18, 2008

The groups rallied to the City-County Building to protest the sheriff’s office’s policy of reporting undocumented immigrants to federal officials.

The protestors marched up State Street to the Madison City-County Building, where members of Progressive Dane were presenting an amendment to the county budget that would deny the sheriff’s department’s request for increased funds and divert the funds into area workers’ rights programs.

Despite the efforts of Progressive Dane and its supporters, the amendment did not pass and the sheriff’s department received its requested funding for 2009.

Protesters said Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney reports all non-U.S. citizens detained in Dane County to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a federal agency. According to Student Progressive Dane member Adam Porton, Mahoney is not obliged to do so by law and has “gone rogue.â€