Two Pending Wisconsin Anti-immigrant Bills By State Republicans Remain In Limbo

The Republican controlled legislature has two anti-immigrant bills pending, which would enforce federal immigration laws in the state.

By H. Nelson Goodson

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

August 8, 2017

Madison, WI - Republican legislators in Wisconsin have introduced two anti-immigrant bills, which Assembly Bill 190 (AB190)/Senate Bill 275 (SB275) would allow law enforcement to hold a suspect involved in a crime that they believed to be an undocumented immigrant for an additional 48 hours by complying with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer requests and Assembly Bill 127 (AB127) would allow Wisconsin residents to filed civil lawsuits against their local government, if they believe immigration laws are not being enforced. AB127 relates to "prohibiting local ordinances, resolutions, and policies that prohibit immigration status inquiries and reports to, and cooperation with, other units of government about the presence of illegal aliens, authorizing a resident of this state to commence an enforcement action, and providing a reduction in shared revenue payments."

ICE detainer requests have been ruled by a federal court of not being legal binding to hold individuals and law enforcement agencies can ignore such ICE requests. Only a court warrant signed by a judge are consideted legal binding to hold an individual.

Both AB190 and AB127 have been introduced in the Wisconsin State Assembly and are pending in committees, which no scheduled hearings have been set for public review. 

If the anti-sanctuary bills AB190/SB275 move forward and are approved by the Republican controlled legislature, the dairy industry will be affected by the lack of dairy immigrant workers and the price of milk will reach $8 per gallon. About 80% of dairy and farm workers in Wisconsin are immigrants.

In June, immigrant rights activists and Voces de la Frontera, a workers and immigrant rights organization held a protest rally against the bills in Madison. Luz Sosa, a local immigrant and civil rights activist and a Professor of Economics at the Milwaukee Area Technical College who was at the rally to protest several ant-sanctuary bills in Madison says, that Wisconsin residents could see an increase of $8.00 in the price of a gallon of milk at grocery stores, if the anti-sanctuary bills are approved and immigrant dairy workers leave their jobs to avoid being targeted by local immigration enforcement efforts.