ACLU of Wisconsin Raises Alarm on ICE Detention By Wisconsin Counties

Open records requests have revealed that at least three Wisconsin county sheriffs, in Ozaukee, Brown and Sauk counties, have made recent deals with ICE to house and transport detained immigrants, increasing detention space for Trump’s deportation initiatives.

Brown County provides an example of such a financial arrangement. An April 2025 agreement with ICE provides funding specifically for "Detention and Transportation Services" with a contract value of $90,000.

• ICE is purchasing $63,000 in detention services from the Brown County Sheriff, which are reimbursed at a rate of $70 per detainee per day.
• An increase to $27,000 in transportation services (escort and stationary guard rates), which are reimbursed at $36 per hour.

Sauk County has also formalized its financial cooperation with ICE through a modification to its Intergovernmental Agreement, effective April 1, 2025. The explicit purpose of this modification is to "Add U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as an authorized rider" to an existing agreement with the US Marshall Service.

• Sauk County receives a per-diem rate of $106 for housing individuals for ICE.
• Guard/Transportation services are reimbursed at $38.45 per hour with mileage reimbursements.

In the six weeks between May 5 and June 12, 2025, Sauk County had already billed ICE for 45 days of detention for various individuals, totaling $4,770. Its billing report explicitly lists "Immigration and Customs Enforcement" as the reason for holding these individuals, demonstrating the direct nature of this financial arrangement.

In March of this year, Ozaukee County gave ICE the ability to purchase cell space in the Ozaukee County Jail, expanding an existing contract with the United States Marshall Service.

Before these new agreements, the Dodge County jail was the only local facility in Wisconsin that housed detained immigrants for ICE.

ACLU of Wisconsin Senior Staff Attorney Tim Muth said:

“These new agreements in Brown, Ozaukee, and Sauk counties underscore a concerning trend: local sheriffs are not only passively complying with ICE requests but actively entering into and benefiting from direct financial arrangements to house and transport immigrants for ICE removal.

The Brown and Ozaukee sheriffs had already signalled their cooperation with ICE by signing 287(g) agreements. Beyond the formal 287(g) agreements and SCAAP funding, these new arrangements provide more direct financial incentives for local sheriffs to collaborate with federal immigration enforcement. Such agreements further integrate local law enforcement into the federal deportation apparatus, diverting resources and compromising community trust.

We may see more of these arrangements to house detained immigrants in county facilities in the near future, as the recently signed federal budget bill assigns billions of dollars to ICE for funding efforts with local law enforcement.”