MILWAUKEE COUNTY

Rights groups accuse Milwaukee leaders of expanding cooperation with immigration officials

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Two immigrant rights groups are accusing city leaders of caving in to pressure from the Trump administration and quietly expanding cooperation with immigration officials.

Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de la Frontera, joins other community organizations responding to President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration policy during a news conference at Milwaukee City Hall in late February.

One group, Voces de la Frontera, says Milwaukee officials are weakening safeguards for immigrants by making it easier for the Milwaukee Police Department to work with federal immigration agents. It also warned the changes could lead to racial profiling.

Mayor Tom Barrett said Monday that the city remains committed to immigrants.

But Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Voces' executive director, pointed to changes to standard operating procedures that were approved last month by Police Chief Edward Flynn and are set to take effect Thursday.

One of the changes eliminates a directive that officers were not to question any person about his or her immigration status unless the person met a narrow list of criteria.

Another change states that officers "shall inform" federal immigration officials of the whereabouts or behaviors of any "suspected illegal immigrant" when that person is arrested for a felony or other serious crimes, such as those involving terrorism or street gangs.

"It literally mandates that the Police Department turn over the information," said Darryl Morin of the League of United Latin American Citizens.

Morin and Neumann-Ortiz criticized the changes, which they say occurred largely out of view of the public.

"We completely condemn the undemocratic process by which this decision was made," Neumann-Ortiz said. "Basically the community was kept in the dark that the city, under Barrett's leadership, was caving into pressure from the Trump administration."

She said changes were under discussion for two months without informing the community or receiving meaningful public input. She called on the city's Fire and Police Commission to revoke the changes and instead have a public hearing on the policy.

Several community leaders were invited to a meeting with police at the end of last week to discuss the policy, Morin said.

"Another great frustration is we've been told this will not change the way the Milwaukee Police Department does its job and the way officers police," Morin said.

"But we all understand the purpose of a standard operating procedure and the requirement officers have to follow it," he said. "To say we changed it but not the way we operate is disingenuous."

The Milwaukee Police Department did not respond to requests for comment Monday.

Jeff Fleming, a Barrett spokesman, said the mayor remains committed to immigrants.

"The mayor is not wavering at all in his support of immigrants in Milwaukee. For reasons of technical compliance, some changes were required in official policy," Fleming said. "But again the mayor stands with immigrants, the immigrant community and the entire city on respecting the value of immigrants."

County and city leaders have repeatedly insisted that they are in compliance with federal immigration laws.

Federal grants at stake

In April, the Trump administration threatened to cut grant money for Milwaukee County — but not the City of Milwaukee — over so-called "sanctuary" policies for immigrants. The administration has linked illegal immigration to violent crime in U.S. cities.

In a letter, the U.S. Department of Justice warned the county that interfering with the ability of police or sheriffs' officials to communicate with federal authorities about the immigration status of prisoners and others could cost them federal funding.

The Justice Department letter implied Milwaukee County could lose more than $900,000 from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program. The money has been used to fund programs such as community prosecution units and has also gone to the Milwaukee Police Department, a city agency.

The Justice Department demanded documentation and an official opinion from legal counsel by June 30 showing Milwaukee County is in compliance. Corporation Counsel Margaret Daun sent such a letter last week.

Although the City of Milwaukee did not receive such a letter, it also replied to the Justice Department and referenced the Byrne grant program. The Milwaukee Police Department is using its share of the grant funding to buy police squad cars and related equipment, according to a June 30 letter from the city attorney's office.

The letter stated the city was in compliance with federal immigration law and included the Police Department's recently modified standard operating procedure.

Earlier in June, the city attorney's office told the Fire and Police Commission during closed session the Police Department's current policy "did not comply" with federal law, according to a June 29 letter from MaryNell Regan, the commission's executive director.

The commission, a civilian oversight board, has requested a written legal opinion from the city attorney's office explaining why the changes were necessary and what changes to the policy "made it compliant." The commission has not yet received a response, Regan said Monday.

Barrett has been a vocal critic of efforts by President Donald Trump and his administration to clamp down on "sanctuary cities," repeatedly saying they were trying to force local governments to act as "border guards."

"The federal government has failed to enact meaningful immigration reform," Barrett said in January. "But to have the federal government then demand that local governments act as border guards is not within the scope, I believe, of what our relationship should be with our federal government."

That month, Flynn sought to reassure the immigrant community, telling several hundred people at a Voces de la Frontera meeting his department was not changing procedures in the wake of Trump's orders.

"It is our opinion, our strongly held belief that our responsibility is to protect the residents of our city," Flynn said in January. "To protect them, they must trust us, they must be willing to report crimes, they must be willing to be witnesses."

Flynn also has said he has no interest in trying to get the authority to deputize his officers as immigration officers through the federal 287(g) program. Trump expanded that program, which allows officers who have been through a four-week training program to interview, arrest and detain anyone thought to be in violation of immigration laws.

Ald. Jose Perez said the goal should be to secure grant money and maintain community relations.

"Ensuring community support makes us all safer because people will have confidence to cooperate with law enforcement," Perez said. "It's unfortunate the mayor and chief waited so long to engage the community, because now the needed buy-in may not be there."