MADISON, Wis. — Being booked into a county jail in Wisconsin can set off a chain of events that leads to deportation — even for minor violations and even before a criminal conviction — according to a July report from the ACLU of Wisconsin that documents what it calls a growing “jail-to-deportation pipeline” across the state.
The report finds that cooperation between county sheriffs and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has expanded since 2022, accelerating during President Donald Trump’s second administration and embedding federal immigration enforcement more deeply into local jail operations.
As of July 2025, “according to ICE, thirteen Wisconsin law enforcement agencies have formalized partnerships with ICE through active 287(g) agreements,” the report states. The 287(g) program “delegates certain immigration enforcement responsibilities to state and local law enforcement” through formal agreements with ICE.
That represents an increase of eight agencies since 2022, a change the report attributes entirely to 2025. Under these agreements, local officers may be authorized “to issue detainers, serve administrative warrants, and initiate deportation proceedings directly within the jail setting,” depending on the model adopted by each county.
The report argues that these arrangements “enable ICE to further embed its enforcement presence within local jurisdictions,” while diverting “local resources from community safety initiatives.” It warns that broader participation by Wisconsin sheriffs could “heighten the risk of racial profiling and erode trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities.”
Beyond formal agreements, the report highlights the role of the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, a federal initiative that “partially reimburses state and local governments for the costs of incarcerating certain non-citizens.” To receive the funding, “agencies submit data on individuals they have incarcerated,” which is then shared with ICE, creating what the report describes as a “direct link in the jail-to-deportation pipeline.”
From federal fiscal years 2021 through 2024, “29 Wisconsin counties and the Wisconsin Department of Corrections received over $7 million in federal funds through SCAAP,” totaling “approximately $7,258,616,” according to the report. The payments are described as a “significant financial incentive” that encourages continued cooperation with federal immigration enforcement beyond legal requirements.
Immigration detainers are identified as a central mechanism in the pipeline. Detainers are “requests from ICE for local jails to hold individuals for up to 48 hours beyond their scheduled release,” the report states, and are “often not accompanied by a warrant signed by a neutral judicial official.” Wisconsin law, the report notes, does not provide “legal authority for law enforcement to act on civil immigration detainers.”
Despite that, the report finds that “most sheriffs across the state” continue to “honor them.” Between October 2021 and June 2025, more than “3,300 detainers” were issued to Wisconsin detention facilities. The report criticizes the practice as civil in nature and lacking judicial authorization.
The report also documents what it calls “direct financial arrangements” between ICE and certain counties — Brown, Sauk and Ozaukee — under which sheriffs are “actively entering into and benefiting from direct financial arrangements to house and transport immigrants for ICE removal activities.” Those agreements provide payment to local jails to “house and transport detained immigrants.”
According to the report’s data, Brown County receives $70 per detainee per day for detention services and $36 per hour for transportation and guard services. Sauk County receives $106 per day for housing and $38.45 per hour for transportation services.
The report also examines pending legislation, including Assembly Bill 24 and Senate Bill 57, that would “mandate and expand sheriff-ICE cooperation.” The bills would require sheriffs to “request proof of lawful presence” from individuals jailed on offenses punishable as felonies and compel compliance with “detainer requests supported by administrative warrants.” Counties that fail to comply would face a “15 percent reduction in county shared revenue payments,” according to the report.
In its concluding section, the ACLU of Wisconsin urges residents to press sheriffs for transparency about cooperation with ICE and to support local policies limiting immigration enforcement. The report also calls for opposition to legislation requiring sheriff participation in federal immigration enforcement, arguing such measures would reduce “the underlying mechanisms enabling the deportation machine in Wisconsin.”
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Ozaukee County has pulled out of its 287 g agreement with ICE. Please update your story.