MADISON— A federal judge ruled Friday that the lawsuit challenging the legality of ICE detainers must remain under the jurisdiction of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, rejecting an attempt by the defendants in the case – five county sheriffs – to have the case moved to federal court.
The petition, brought by the ACLU of Wisconsin on behalf of Voces De La Frontera, was filed directly to the state Supreme Court in September of last year, and the justices agreed to hear the case in December. The sheriffs then tried to take the litigation out of the Supreme Court’s purview, filing a notice of removal to federal court.
In response, the ACLU filed a motion to remand, arguing that the sheriffs’ action was not permitted and requested the case return to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. A judge in the Western District of Wisconsin has now agreed, ordering that the matter must be adjudicated by the high court.
“We now know that our litigation challenging ICE detainers will proceed before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Immigrants continue to live in constant fear of being falsely arrested and detained by ICE, so ending this illegal practice is no less urgent now than it was when we brought this case,” said Tim Muth, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Wisconsin.
Voces’ Executive Director, Christine Neuman-Ortiz stated: “Hopefully, we are closer to the day when local sheriffs and police can no longer detain innocent immigrants without cause until ICE comes to arrest and deport them.”
The lawsuit contends that honoring an ICE detainer constitutes an arrest, and Wisconsin law enforcement does not have the authority to make arrests based solely on ICE's civil administrative “warrants.”
ICE continues to send hundreds of these detainers to Wisconsin jails, and people throughout the state are being illegally held for days so that ICE can pick them up. ICE sends detainers even for people with no criminal records or people who still have charges pending in Wisconsin courts.
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