U.S. ICE And Milwaukee Police Collaboration In The Southside Results In One Arrest

Photos courtesy of VDLF

ICE agents and multiple Milwaukee police from District 2 using a K-9 dog arrested one person in the Southside of Milwaukee.

By H. Nelson Goodson

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

September 23, 2019

Milwaukee, WI - On Monday,  U.S. ICE with the collaboration of the Milwaukee Police Department District 2 and the use of a K-9 dog went to a Southside home near W. Becher Street and S. 5th Street around 9:22 a.m. One person was taken into custody, according to both Primitivo Torres and Tommy Molina from Voces de la Frontera.

Torres says that a Hotline tip came in to Voces de la Fronteras about ICE and police at a Southside home. Torres and Molina went to the scene and video recorded the incident. In the video Torres asked, if ICE had a search warrant and a police officer responded that that they didn't need to show the warrant.

Torres says that VDLF has the Hotline number 414-418-9409 where tips can be reported about ICE activities and raids.
Apparently, Mayor Tom Barrett has indicated in prior occassions that MPD doesn't collaborate with ICE and Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales has not taken a stand whether to continue to collaborate with ICE.
On Thursday, September 26, 2019 at 4:30 p.m., a press conference will be held at the Rotunda inside City Hall concerning MPD Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 130 concerning collaboration with ICE. Two out of three Milwaukee Fire and Police Commissioners is needed to approve or reject the SOP 130 policy. If the SOP policy proceeds, a final vote by the Fire and Police Commission will be held on October 3rd.
Torres invites the public to attend and to show their concerns about police collaboration with ICE.

Update: According to Kristine De la Cruz, her husband was seating in their vehicle when U.S. ICE agents arrived to take him into custody and wouldn't let Kristine drive away, since they didn't have a warrant for her husband, Jose Alejandro De la Cruz-Espinoza, 38, who has been in the U.S. for at least 17 years and married to her for 15 years. As ICE agents blocked their vehicle a MPD squad drove by and stopped. Apparently, one cop reached through the driver's window and unlocked the doors and took Jose who was seating in the back seat into custody for a probation violation, according to Kristine. Kristine says that no warrant was shown when requested. Police officers took Jose into custody, but they immediately released him to ICE agents. Kristine told Hispanic News Network U.S.A. (HNNUSA) that Jose was convicted in April 2019 after pleading no contest for carrying a conceal weapon in August 2017 (sentenced to 12 months probation), which she says was hers, but the she forgot to remove the handgun from the vehicle and when Jose was driving and later stopped by a Milwaukee County Sheriff's deputy for a traffic violation and having no driver's license. The deputy found the gun inside the vehicle, which Jose wasn't aware it was in the vehicle, according to Kristine. Jose has a 14, 13 and 11-year-old daughters. A GoFundMe account has been set up for donations to help Jose to be released on bond. ICE told Kristine that Jose will be transferred to the Dodge County Jail, while he awaits for deportation proceedings.

Kristine De la Cruz released a, "Video of Alex being arrested illegally this morning. A Milwaukee Police Officer reached in my car and unlocked the doors without a warrant."

U.S.ICE Agents And Milwaukee Police In Collaboration Illegally Arrested One Person In Wisconsin. Full video at https://youtu.be/SEyT-sD_pHs

Fox 6 News published the following statements by U.S. ICE officials.

U.S. ICE Chicago Field Office Director Robert Guadian released the following statement about the incident, "Regrettably, advocacy groups and others released inaccurate and misleading information about this recent arrest in Wisconsin. To be absolutely clear, U.S. immigration law provides ICE officers the authority to arrest aliens without a judicial warrant. Falsehoods advocated by individuals and groups with their own agenda widely spreads misinformation and may inspire some to violence."

Newsweek also reported that Guadian said on a statement to them that, "To be clear, ICE does not ask local law enforcement agencies to enforce immigration law," Guadian said. "ICE called for MPD assistance, as we would any local law enforcement agency, when the situation appeared to escalate to ensure the safety of everyone involved." But in this case in Milwaukee, an MPD officer was used to illegally reach inside the vehicle through a partially open window and unlock the vehicle's locked doors without a warrant and De la Cruz was forced out of the truck by an officer, which an officer at the scene during a video recorded at the scene says was for a probation violation, which had just been entered in a computer at the scene of the incident when there was no active probation violation hold for De la Cruz and then police turned him over to ICE custody, which was another illegal act by MPD police from District Station 2, since they had apparently had him on a frivolous state misdemeanor probation violation hold to coverup their illegal acts.

Also a statement from Nicole Alberico,  the U.S. ICE spokesperson says, "Jose Alejandro De la Cruz-Espinosa, 38, is a citizen of Mexico who is illegally present in the U.S. On Sept. 23, 2019, deportation officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested De la Cruz-Espinosa in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has a criminal history that includes several criminal offenses in Wisconsin’s Brown and Marathon counties.

"As ICE officers were effecting this arrest, De la Cruz-Espinosa was uncooperative and refused to exit his vehicle or follow lawfully issued commands. After some time, De la Cruz-Espinosa complied with officers. Ultimately, ICE officers arrested De la Cruz as he was stepping out of the car.

"De La Cruz-Espinosa remains in ICE custody pending the disposition of his immigration case."

Editor's note: Hispanic News Network U.S.A. did a criminal record check for Jose Alejandro De la Cruz-Espinosa, 38, and found no additional criminal records in Brown and Marathon Counties in Wisconsin within the last 10 years as U.S. ICE claims other than the conceal carry misdemeanor conviction in April 2019, according to Wisconsin court records.

According to U.S. ICE, "Under the Immigration and Nationality Act as passed by Congress, ICE detainers, removal orders issued by federal immigration judges, and ICE immigration enforcement in general, is conducted under civil law. The “judicial warrant” demanded by a sheriff (police) only applies to criminal cases and does not exist for civil law matters. "However, for every detainer ICE issues the agency also provides an accompanying administrative warrant, or a warrant of removal along with the detainer, which is the warrant that does exist for matters governed under civil law." The ICE warrants are not legal binding to enter private property to arrest a suspected undocumented individual or a vehicle, which is private property as well, but ICE attempts to deceit the public by making it seem that ICE administrative warrants are legal to execute on private property and force a Sheriff's Department or Police Department to turn over an individual. Law enforcement agencies do neglect to honor such ICE detainers and administrative warrants to avoid being liable by an individual due to the non legal binding ICE warrants and detainers.