ICE crackdown divides swing state candidates as GOP nominee vows to mandate sheriff cooperation
Republican Wisconsin gubernatorial nominee Tom Tiffany vowed Wednesday to mandate cooperation between local sheriffs and federal immigration authorities, drawing a sharp contrast with Democrat David Crowley over President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown during their general election debate.
Tiffany said Wisconsin law enforcement agencies should be required to honor federal immigration detainers, arguing that coordination with ICE allows authorities to remove illegal immigrants accused of crimes while they are still being held in county jails.
"I will make sure that local, county and state law enforcement coordinate with federal law enforcement," Tiffany said in the debate hosted by WISN-TV.
Asked directly whether he would mandate that cooperation by law, Tiffany replied: "Yes, I believe we should. They should honor detainers."
Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive, said he would not support a blanket ban on cooperation with federal immigration authorities and agreed that immigrants convicted of crimes should be deported. But he called for restrictions on ICE operations, including barring contracts between local law enforcement and ICE, requiring judicial warrants for agents to enter jails and prisons and prohibiting agents from wearing masks.
"We need to make sure that we're protecting people's civil liberties," Crowley said.
Immigration enforcement has become an increasingly visible flashpoint in Wisconsin, where ICE arrests surged this summer as the Trump administration expanded its nationwide deportation push.
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Trump's immigration crackdown has increasingly collided with state and local governments, putting sheriffs and police departments at the center of a national fight over how far local authorities should go to help federal agents carry out the president's mass deportation agenda.
That debate is already playing out across Wisconsin. Twenty county law enforcement agencies in the state participate in ICE's 287(g) program, which allows designated local officers to perform certain immigration enforcement functions. Cooperation with ICE has also emerged as an issue in sheriff races in Sauk and Winnebago counties ahead of the November election.
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Wisconsin has simultaneously seen a sharp increase in federal immigration enforcement since Trump returned to office. The latest available federal data showed ICE arrests in the state reaching new highs over the summer, with more than 2,100 people detained between January 2025 and the latest reporting period.
The issue has become a complicated one for both parties heading into the midterms. Republicans have continued to campaign on border security and immigration enforcement, while Democrats have increasingly focused their attacks on the Trump administration's deportation tactics and the conduct of ICE agents.