In the sole gubernatorial debate, Tom Tiffany said he would require local, county, and state law enforcement to coordinate with ICE and honor federal detainers so criminal illegal aliens are transferred while still in jail.
“If you have an illegal alien in your state and they committed a crime, the only people that can remove that illegal alien are federal agents. Your county sheriff cannot,” Tiffany said. “So if you have someone in your county jail, it requires federal law enforcement to do it. I will make sure that local, county and state law enforcement coordinate with federal law enforcement.”
Crowley opposed that. He called for ending contracts between local agencies and ICE, restricting agents, and rejecting 287(g) agreements—including the jail models that simply screen people already in custody for serious crimes. He has previously said he sees “no scenario” in which he would partner with ICE and declared himself an “accomplice” to illegal immigrants “no matter what.” Milwaukee County does not participate and refuses to work with Immigration Customs and Enforcement.
“We need to make sure there are no contracts when it comes down to our local police departments and our sheriffs.”
Crowley also continued “they cannot wear makes and must show a badge,” suggesting this incites fear. He also said “they cannot come into our jails without a judicial warrant.” Crowley put a fine point on it—“I don’t think that none of our police departments or sheriffs should be working with ICE.”
Tiffany’s ads have put faces on the consequences of the Biden Administration’s actions. In Dane County, a repeat drunk-driving illegal immigrant killed two teenagers. In Fond du Lac, an illegal immigrant paid a mother $250, then bound and blindfolded her 12-year-old daughter in a van to sexually assault her; the child escaped and both adults (also illegally present) received lengthy sentences. In Milwaukee, a drunk illegal immigrant killed a Special Olympian on his way to church. Several fellow Wisconsinites have been brutally victimized by illegal aliens.
Fond du Lac County has shown the approach preferred by nearly all law enforcement agencies statewide. District Attorney Eric Toney prosecuted Juan Carlos Rocha Mejia and Elia Antonio—both illegally present—after Rocha Mejia paid Antonio $250 to sexually assault her 12-year-old daughter; the child was bound and blindfolded in a van before fighting free. Both received maximum sentences, with ICE detainers in place. Toney has also charged other illegal aliens in serious cases, including one ordered removed in 2015 who critically injured a woman with Down syndrome, and has emphasized that victims continue to pay the price of a broken system that fails to identify and remove criminal illegal aliens.
Toney, now running for Attorney General, consistently backs law enforcement coordination with federal authorities rather than opposing it. He said he will not apologize for protecting the community or cooperating with federal authorities when the law requires it. He was endorsed by over 75% of the sheriffs in Wisconsin—including Democrats, Republicans, & Independents. “They have my back because I’ll put public safety over politics and bring common-sense leadership back to the DOJ,” Toney said.
Crowley’s Milwaukee County record points the other way. His administration has used taxpayer-funded lobbyists against school resource officers and has advanced policies—including issuing criminals tablets while in jail, that prioritize far-left ideology over law enforcement.
The tablet program was recently used to contact a domestic-violence victim more than 1,500 times, to threaten a Milwaukee police officer, to intimidate witnesses in a triple-homicide case, and to access child pornography. Tiffany slammed Crowley in a recent ad asking, “How Many Victims Have to Be Terrorized Before Crowley Acts?”
Milwaukee judges including Judge David Borowski have been strong opponents to these soft-on-crime policies. Borowski says “We have a problem in this community.”
In a recent sentencing hearing, Borowski highlighted how the crime at issue was “so aggravated, so heinous, it managed to shock Milwaukee. And this city is unfortunately completely numb to, and doesn’t care anymore about homicides, but your offense was so heinous it managed to shock this community.”
Milwaukee has also long refused to honor ICE detainers. Wisconsinites DO NOT want the Milwaukee soft-on-crime business model statewide. The Heartland Post has well documented both positions.
Public safety—especially protection from violent crime and crimes against children—requires law enforcement to work together. Crowley has repeatedly chosen the opposite.
