A Valid Judicial Federal Or State Warrant Signed By A Judge Must Be Presented By U.S. ICE For Local Police Collaboration To Assist And Arrest An Individual, Ruled The Milwaukee Fire And Police Commission Policies And Standards Committee

The Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission Policies and Standards unanimously approved the newly revised Milwaukee Police Standards Operating Procedure 130 that makes it clear, that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would have to present a valid judicial federal or state criminal warrant signed by a court judge to have police collaborate with ICE to detain or arrest an undocumented individual in the City of Milwaukee.

By H. Nelson Goodson

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

December 12, 2019

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - On Thursday, the three member Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission Policies and Standards Committee (MFPCPSC) Chaired by Nelson Soler unanimously voted to approve the newly revised Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) Standards Operating Procedure 130 (SOP 130) that would require the U.S. Immigration and Customs enforcement to present a valid federal or state judicial criminal warrant signed by a court judge to allow police to collaborate and assist ICE in detaining or arresting a suspected undocumented individual. The SOP 130 will also require the MPD to make available police crime reports to crime victims for the purpose to apply and who are in the process of getting a U-visa, especially for those in deportation proceedings, which MPD would have 90 days to make the crime reports available per request and at least 30 days for those undocumented victims of crime in deportation preceedings.

The MFPCPSC made it clear during the hearing, that an ICE administrative civil immigration warrant signed by an agent will not be recognized or accepted by the MPD for the purpose in arresting or detaining an individual without a judicial warrant.

The newly revised SOP 130 requires ICE to have a valid judicial warrant to detain and arrest an individual when asking for police to assist and collaborate with ICE agents in federal civil immigration enforcement purposes that was approved by the MFPCPSC now goes before the full Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission for approval on December 18, 2019.

Christine Neumann-Ortiz, the Executive Director from Voces de Frontera, a workers and immigrant rights nonprofit organization, Wisconsin State Representative Marisabel Cabrera (D-Miilw.), who is also an immigration attorney, Shiu-Ming Cheer, Director of Movement Building & Strategic Partnerships for the National Immigration Law Center and allies were instrumental in helping MPD to draft certain revisions of the newly adopted SOP 130 by the MFPCPSC restricting Police collaboration with ICE unless ICE agents have a judicial criminal warrant to detain and arrest a suspected undocumented individual.