Green Bay Police Department seal (PHOTO/WTAQ News)
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — As the Trump administration begins mass deportation efforts across the country, we’re getting a closer look at how it will impact us locally in Northeast Wisconsin and the role law enforcement will play.
President Donald Trump’s new policies now allow federal agents to arrest illegal immigrants from schools and churches — something that was barred under former President Joe Biden’s administration.
“ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] is going to enforce the immigration law. There’s nothing in the INA, the Immigration Nationality Act, that says you have to be convicted of a serious crime in order to be removed from our country,” White House Border Czar Tom Homan said.
Homan said ICE is already deporting non-citizens and has issued warnings to sanctuary cities. Here in Northeast Wisconsin, the Green Bay Police Department has so far not been asked to make any changes to its actions, but it’s possible the department will hear from federal officials.
“If that request comes, then we would do the same thing we would with any request from any other outside law enforcement agency that comes and asks for our help with something. Is this an appropriate use of our resources?” Green Bay Police Chief Chris Davis said.
Davis said the department wants to maintain trust within the immigrant community, while also keeping the public safe. Working with ICE isn’t uncommon for local law enforcement, but Davis said it’s usually just to provide help getting around the area.
“They’re doing investigations. I’ve never seen them just come out, kind of proactively, and stop people on street corners and those kinds of things. They’re looking for specific people,” Davis said.
Hispanic resource center Casa Alba Melanie spoke on Trump’s deportation plans. They said a loss of trust is likely to happen if police officers are seen with Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel.
“If they see police officers helping ICE carry out deportations, in their mind, then they’re all connected, they’re all working together,” Casa ALBA Melanie Executive Director Amanda Garcia said.
Davis wants to ensure folks it’s the department’s priority to protect everyone, no matter their immigration status.
“One of my big concerns in this whole conversation is that folks in our immigrant communities might start to feel like we are not a resource for them,” he said.
The Brown County Sheriff’s Office also commented on the matter in a statement that reads:
We are not aware of any Federal Immigration enforcement actions in our area. Federal agents are not required to notify local law enforcement of their actions. The Federal changes do not impact law enforcement at the local level.
The Brown County Sheriff’s Office priority is the safety of our communities. We are committed to remaining good partners with all the Federal Law Enforcement agencies, and it is important to remember that Immigration is written in Federal law and is enforced by Federal agencies.
Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jill Underly released a statement in response to the policy change that allows illegal immigrants to be arrested in schools.
She said, in part, “No child decides their own immigration status… When we open schools to immigration raids, that hurts the kids targeted, but it also hurts every other child who might be incorrectly targeted, who is traumatized by the raid, and who will lose valued friends and teachers.”
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