DA tries again on immigrants
He aims to seek enforcement power
By SCOTT WILLIAMS
swilliams@journalsentinel.com


Posted: May 8, 2007

Waukesha - Waukesha County's new district attorney is trying to renew a push for special immigration enforcement authority after a previous effort got sidetracked.


Buy a link hereBoth the county sheriff and the Waukesha police chief said they never got word that a joint application filed previously was unacceptable and they would each need to apply individually.

"We'll make it go forward," District Attorney Brad Schimel said Monday.

Schimel said he hoped to have at least one application ready within a few weeks for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Last summer, then-District Attorney Paul Bucher announced a joint application with Sheriff Dan Trawicki and Waukesha Police Chief Les Sharrock seeking federal authority to investigate possible illegal immigrants and start deportation proceedings.

Although immigration rights advocates have opposed it, many police agencies across the country have sought the authorization in an attempt to crack down on illegal immigrants. Waukesha County was the first in Wisconsin to pursue the issue.
Federal authorities responded in August that the joint county-city application was unacceptable. Bucher said he sent a letter to Trawicki and Sharrock notifying both of them and encouraging them to submit individual applications.

Bucher, who was running for Wisconsin attorney general at the time, lost that race and left the district attorney's office in December. Schimel, who succeeded Bucher, confirmed that records in his office include a letter from Bucher dated in September and addressed to both the sheriff and the police chief.

"I don't know what happened," Schimel said.Trawicki and Sharrock said Monday that they never received the letter or were made aware that the federal government had rejected the initial application.

Trawicki said he planned to submit an application for the Sheriff's Department as soon as possible. "Whatever needs to be done, we'll do," he said.

Sharrock said the Police Department was never notified of the situation, and that he would need more information before deciding whether to pursue the immigration authority anew.

He questioned why the federal government was requiring local police agencies to "jump through hoops."

Sharrock said: "It seems like there's a change in the game plan. I want to know just what that means."





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