The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com.

Trump had announced that ICE would rid America of the “worst of the worst,” immigrants who had been convicted of serious crimes. In May 2025, Trump’s top advisor, Stephen Miller, berated Immigration and Customs Enforcement leaders as they were nowhere near completing the one million deportations Trump and Miller had promised.

“YOU ALL KNOW WHAT AN ILLEGAL LOOKS LIKE,” Miller told the leaders. Miller didn’t care who they arrested, as long as they got the numbers up.

The directors and agents were being told to forget their training that told them it was illegal to racially profile someone to make an arrest. Miller told them to stop focusing on criminals and arrest anyone who might look like an illegal immigrant.

ICE leaders in Washington told officers to start arresting first and ask for immigration status later. “They were told to start pulling people over even if they did not have high confidence that the person in the car they were stopping was an illegal alien.”

ICE leadership was eager to make good on the president’s deportation promise by circumventing democracy through ignoring due process and deporting thousands of immigrants without a court hearing.

It was now ICE policy to arrest immigrants simply based on their location and not based on a threat they may pose to their community. No longer was the focus on the “worst of the worst.” Those who crossed the border seeking refuge from persecution or entered through ports of entry were declared criminals.

ICE became a federally sanctioned vigilante force, ignoring court orders that required immigrants receive due process and be given time to appeal their deportation. They no longer present as a legitimate law enforcement agency.

The Walworth County Sheriff’s Office mission statement says, “We will serve and protect all citizens and visitors of Walworth County with dedicated public safety services in partnership with our community.”

ICE’s tactics and actions have gone rogue; not matching the mission of the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office. The county’s recently signed cooperation agreement with ICE; transferring inmates to ICE upon completion of their incarceration must be reviewed to ensure protection for immigrants who pose no threat to the county.

Hanson, of Elkhorn, is a member of the Walworth County Democratic Party.