| By Big Radio News Staff |
State Rep. Ann Roe uses the terms “redundant” and “reckless” to describe a Republican state Assembly immigration bill that threatens to de-fund counties whose sheriff’s offices don’t cooperate with federal immigration officials.
Roe, a Democrat, says she opposes the assembly’s passage of a bill this week that would require sheriff’s offices to spend more time and money scouring its jail logs for immigrants who’re being held on felonies.
The bill would require sheriffs offices report to Immigration and Customs Enforcement anyone whose citizenship cannot be verified.
Roe represents the 44th Assembly District, which covers much of central Rock County, including Janesville. She says Wisconsin sheriff’s offices already make such checks and submit the results to federal databases. She says the Republican bill essentially requires police to do that work twice.
Roe calls that an “unfunded mandate” that wastes police time and resources.
Roe points out the law would also require the hire of two new state employees who’d process the sheriff’s offices’ immigration data filings. Roe says the state bill makes no mention of how the state would fund the two positions.
The bill says counties whose sheriff’s fail to toe the line on immigration canvassing could lose 15 percent of their state aid.
Republicans say that’s teeth in the bill that would force police to uphold federal law.
Roe calls the bill a “threat” aimed at forcing Wisconsin police to get on board with emerging federal immigration policies that are part of an immigration crackdown the Trump administration is pushing.
Roe says Republican assembly members who crafted the bill made no attempt to seek input from their Democrat counterparts.
She says that’s how it’s been with a host of recent state bills in which she says Republicans have sought no feedback from Democrats.
Roe questions the “timing” of the bill.
She thinks Republicans’ real aim is to politicize immigration in the run up to a spring election that decides the balance of Wisconsin’s Supreme Court.
