Milwaukee Sheriff Hails DOJ Funding Threat

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke is applauding a letter the U.S. Department of Justice sent last week. Milwaukee County was one of nine so-called “sanctuary” communities across the country to get a letter from the DOJ on Friday threatening to withhold, suspend or terminate grant funding.

The letter asked for proof the county isn’t restricting the sharing of individuals’ immigration status between county agencies and employees and the federal U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

A justice department press release said a May 2016 report indicated the jurisdictions may have laws that violate the terms of federal law enforcement grants.

“I welcome the U.S. DOJ communication to county executive (Chris) Abele indicating a loss of federal funds if the county is not in compliance with immigration law,” Clarke said in a statement posted Monday on Facebook.

On Monday, Abele stood by his assertion that the county is abiding by federal guidelines.

“The county’s lawyers have determined that we remain in compliance with all relevant laws and we will be communicating that legal opinion with the DOJ as requested,” a county spokeswoman wrote in an email.

The letters were the latest move by the Trump administration to make good on campaign promises to cut federal funding to cities that don’t fully comply with federal immigration enforcement efforts.

The letters also went out to the California Board of Corrections; Chicago Police Department; New Orleans; Philadelphia; New York City; Clark County, Nevada; Miami Dade County, Florida; and Cook County, Illinois.

The terms of the department’s Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program say communities “may not prohibit, or in anyway restrict, any government entity or official from sending to, or receiving from” the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services information about a person’s citizenship or immigration status, regardless if the person is in the country legally or not.

The grant program supports a broad range of state and local efforts, according to a Department of Justice website, including law enforcement, prosecution, indigent defense, courts, crime prevention and education, corrections and community corrections, drug treatment and enforcement, planning, evaluation, technology improvement, and crime victim and witness initiatives.

Abele issued a statement Friday afternoon asserting the county is in full compliance with the grant requirements and will provide proof to the department by the June 30 deadline in the letter.

Abele questioned the department’s decision to issue the letters through press release rather communicate directly through professional channels, which he said is “departure from past practice.”

“Currently Milwaukee County is not in compliance of federal immigration laws, regardless of what Abele says,” Clarke responded in his Monday statement, also calling Abele a repeat liar.

“I will work with the U.S. DOJ to hold Abele and the county board’s feet to the fire on this issue. I am demanding that they demonstrate their compliance by retracting the county board resolution File No. 16-738, which designated Milwaukee County as a ‘safe place,’ opposes the use of Section 287g, and refuses to honor detainer requests unless accompanied by a federal judge’s court order or warrant,” Clarke wrote.

Section 287g is a federal program Clarke has applied to take part in that trains local law enforcement officials to enforce federal immigration laws.

In his statement, Clarke called on county supervisors not only to rescind their 2017 safe place resolution but also to issue a letter in support of the sheriff’s office participation in the Section 287g program and to pressure the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee Public Schools to rescind their own “safe haven” policies.

The DOJ release also said “many of these jurisdictions are also crumbling under the weight of illegal immigration and violent crime.”

Last week, Abele called that characterization inaccurate and counterproductive.

“What is happening in Milwaukee is that homelessness and unemployment rates are down,” Abele said. “Access to health care and transit is up and we have a booming downtown.”