(Madison) “…finding people that committed crimes and sending them back home, who could be against that?” Governor Tony Evers asked that question last June. Today, he answered it himself: apparently, he could. The Governor vetoed a bill authored by Sen. Julian Bradley (R – New Berlin) that would have ensured local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration officials.
The bill would have required law enforcement to inquire about the immigration status of individuals detained for felony crimes and mandates that sheriffs comply with detainers and administrative warrants issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“This bill has always been about one thing: removing dangerous criminals from our communities,” said Senator Bradley. “Governor Evers may talk a good game, but when it came time to act, he proved that talk is cheap.”
The bill had cleared the Senate in Mach on a voice vote with no recorded opposition, a testament to the importance of the process. Nearly 70% of ICE arrests result from a detainer and transfer of custody from another law enforcement agency. The need for this legislation was recently underscored by events in Minnesota; coordination between sheriffs and federal law enforcement partners helps to facilitate the orderly transfer of dangerous criminals, avoiding the need for the federal government to be more involved at the local level.
“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.”
