Media Contact

David Gwidt, ACLU of Wisconsin Deputy Communications Director, dgwidt@aclu-wi.org

DOUGLAS COUNTY — Documents provided to the ACLU of Wisconsin pursuant to an open records request reveal another county sheriff's department which is receiving thousands of dollars to act as a jailer for ICE.

The Douglas County sheriff has billed ICE more than $21,000 to jail 111 individuals since the beginning of 2025.

The contract to hold ICE detainees dates back to July 2020, and the Douglas County sheriff's office is being paid $75 per day to jail persons for ICE.

Douglas County joins Dodge, Sauk and Brown counties as locations ICE is using for immigration detention as it works to ramp up massive deportation across the nation.

Senior Staff Attorney Tim Muth said the following:

“These arrangements provide more direct financial incentives for local sheriffs to collaborate with Trump’s extreme deportation initiative. Federal immigration enforcement is not the job of Wisconsin officials who are supposed to keep our communities safe.

Each facility, bed, and jail cell repurposed for immigration detention increases ICE's capacity to separate families.”

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