Immigrant Rights Activists Oppose Dane County Jail Policy
County Board Supervisor Proposes Resolution On Disclosure

POSTED: 8:35 pm CDT May 1, 2009


MADISON, Wis. -- Large groups tuned out in Madison and other cities for May Day rallies Friday, and immigrant rights activists and undocumented workers are continuing to blast a local jail policy.

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Under the policy, anyone booked into the Dane County Jail who isn't a U.S. citizen is reported to federal immigration officials.

A proposed Dane County Board resolution would end that, but the sheriff said he's not changing a thing.

Sheriff Dave Mahoney told WISC-TV Friday that he is definitely not going to change his policy, despite the new proposal to end immigration notification.

In 2008, 315 of the more than 14,140 bookings at the jail were reported to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, because they were not U.S. citizens.

That federal agency subsequently put "holds" on a third of them, and ultimately "removed" 75 of them -- presumably for deportation.

Some argue the immigration notification is unfair because some of those referred have legal residency, just not citizenship, or are accused of only minor offenses.

Dane County Board Supervisor John Hendrick is proposed a resolution to the county board that would ban law enforcement officials from disclosing information about a person's immigration status unless required by law.

ICE does not require such notification, WISC-TV reported.

"One argument is that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has information that the local law enforcement doesn't have and perhaps we'll find out about crimes in other countries," Hendrick said. "But still I don't believe that someone who is taken to the jail (and) because no driver's license should have the extreme penalty of being removed by immigration and possibly deported."

Some worker rights groups said there is a "huge problem" with women who are victims of domestic violence not calling the police because they don't want the fathers of the children to be deported.

But Sheriff Dave Mahoney said he is simply doing what has been done for 30 years.

And he said those removed last year by ICE were for serious offenses, including repeat drunken driving and sexual assault of a child.

Mahoney said ICE might consider domestic battery a deportable offense, but he said that's not his decision. He said his mandate is to use every means he has, including potentially new crime information from ICE, to ensure his jail is safe and secure.

Still, others do not agree. They are backing Hendrick's county board resolution to forbid law enforcement from disclosing immigration status information to ICE unless required by law.

That proposal will be reviewed by the county's Public Protection and Judiciary Committee next week.

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