Veto Sets Up A Major Issue For The Fall Campaign
Gov. Tony Evers vetoed Assembly Bill 24 on Thursday, rejecting a Republican-backed measure designed to remove dangerous criminal illegal immigrants from Wisconsin communities by requiring local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
The bill, authored by Sen. Julian Bradley (R-New Berlin) and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester), passed the Republican-controlled Legislature on the last day of the recent floor session.
In his veto message, Governor Evers said: “I am vetoing this bill because Republican lawmakers are trying to micromanage local law enforcement decisions by threatening to gut state aid by 15% for our local communities – that’s a non-starter.”
AB 24 would have required county sheriffs to inquire into the immigration status of individuals detained on felony charges and mandated compliance with detainers and administrative warrants issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The bill targeted only serious offenders. It would have compelled sheriffs to request proof of legal presence from those held in county jails for offenses punishable as felonies. Sheriffs would have been required to honor ICE detainers, typically allowing federal authorities up to 48 hours to take custody and remove public safety threats.
Legislative Republicans are not happy.
“For the Governor to veto this bill after it passed on a voice vote in the Senate, that just shows how out of step Evers and his radical left base are,” noted Senator Bradley. “Today, he had a chance to stand for public safety. Instead, he stood with the fringes of his own party.”
The bill was also an attempt to ensure that Wisconsin had a consistent statewide policy on criminal illegals. Right now, many counties do not cooperate with ICE. Just 19 sheriffs currently have agreements in place to cooperate. There are 72 sheriffs in the state. AB 24 would have forced illegal immigrant havens like Dane and Milwaukee counties to hold criminals or face a 15 percent reduction from the county’s shared revenue payment.
The Milwaukee Common Council went so far as to pass a resolution asking ICE to stay out of Milwaukee and calling for the abolition of ICE altogether.
Wisconsin’s illegal immigrant population is estimated to be in the 150,000 – 160,000 range. During a six-month period in 2025, ICE made just over 1,000 detainer requests to jail facilities around the state.
Governor Evers tried to fool Wisconsinites by saying in his veto message that he vetoed the bill because “we should be working together with local law enforcement to improve public safety, reduce crime, and keep dangerous drugs and violent criminals off of our streets.”
In reality, despite the Governor’s misleading statement, that is exactly what the bill would have accomplished had he signed it into law, and it is exactly why it is needed, because many Sheriffs in this state do not cooperate with ICE. When a Sheriff does not cooperate with ICE, dangerous criminals are released back into the community and allowed to commit additional crimes. See examples below.
Supporters pointed out that roughly 70% of ICE arrests have historically stemmed from detainers and transfers from local agencies. Recent federal operations in Minnesota demonstrated the value of such coordination in efficiently and safely removing criminal illegal immigrants. Once Minnesota officials finally agreed to cooperate with ICE detainer requests, a calm was restored to the Minneapolis area.
Minnesota’s experience raises all sorts of questions about Evers’ veto and why he doesn’t want the same sort of peace and safety here in Wisconsin.
Recent polling underscores broad public support for such measures. A Cygnal poll of 1,004 likely voters conducted Jan. 27-28, 2026, found 61% support deporting illegal immigrants, 73% agree that entering the United States illegally breaks the law, 54% support ICE enforcing federal immigration laws, and 64% say illegal immigration is a problem.
A Harvard/Harris Poll from October 2025 showed even stronger backing for targeting criminals: 78% of registered voters support deporting illegal immigrants who commit crimes, including 69% of Democrats, 87% of Republicans, and 77% of independents.
Wisconsin has seen multiple cases highlighting the risks.
Wisconsin’s own Marquette Law School poll has shown around 60% of Wisconsinites approve of the deportation of all immigrants here illegally, not just those accused of committing serious crimes.
Governor Tony Evers (D) has a consistent record of vetoing Republican-backed immigration-related bills in Wisconsin, often citing them as unnecessary, politically motivated, or infringing on local control. He has described such measures as attempts to push “polarizing political rhetoric” when existing laws or practices already address the issues.
On December 5, 2025, Assembly Bill 308 (AB 308) / Senate Bill 311 was the most prominent immigration veto prior to AB24. The bill would have prohibited state, county, and local funds, and certain federal funds, from being used for health care services (including BadgerCare or Medicaid-related) for individuals not lawfully present in the United States.
Evers vetoed it along with eight other bills that day. In his veto message, he noted that undocumented immigrants are already ineligible for BadgerCare in Wisconsin, and Republicans had acknowledged the bill addressed a non-existent problem. He criticized it as redundant legislation aimed at scoring political points rather than solving real issues.
Some recent examples of dangerous crimes committed by illegal immigrants in Wisconsin:
August of 2025 – An illegal alien killed two teenagers aged 18 and 19 while driving intoxicated. The Dane County Sheriff’s office did not comply with an ICE detainer request.
December of 2025 – Two illegal immigrants living in Two Rivers were arrested in Wyoming after allegedly being paid to kidnap a local 16-year-old girl and transport her to Utah.
January of 2026 – Three of four men arrested for stealing cash and jewelry from homes were Colombian nationals living in Beaver Dam. The gang possessed a “hit list” of 30 targets across the state.
The Governor’s veto of AB 24 comes just one day after ICE announced the arrest of Sarah Salem Sarsour. Sorsour, a Jordanian national and president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, was arrested on suspicion of funding terror organizations and lying on his immigration forms, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
DHS officials described him as a convicted terrorist who threw Molotov cocktails at the homes of Israeli armed forces and illegally attempted to possess weapons and ammunition in Israel. His initial immigrant visa application was denied because of that record, yet he entered the U.S. in 1993 as a conditional resident and obtained a green card in 1998 after what authorities say were false statements on his forms.
Democratic officials from across the state expressed shock and outrage at Sorsour’s lawful arrest.
Despite the misleading appearance of bipartisan support in the State Senate, Legislative Democrats are expected to vote to uphold the Governor’s veto. With Governor Evers not running for reelection this fall, their opposition to this bill is expected to make it a central point of debate in the fall elections.
