Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers opposes GOP legislation that would require local law enforcement to work with federal immigration officials or risk losing state funds.
Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ office is already rejecting efforts by state Republicans to require local law enforcement to assist federal immigration officers in identifying and detaining illegal immigrants.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on Monday that GOP lawmakers are drafting legislation that would require county sheriffs to ask people in custody to provide proof of U.S. citizenship and report those who cannot to the Department of Homeland Security. The law would also require these sheriffs to work with immigration officers on warrants.
Failure to comply with the law could result in a 15% loss in state aid.
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A spokesperson for Evers referred to the draft bill as “not a serious proposal” and said the governor would not support a bill that “reneges on our commitment to support local law enforcement, first responders, and communities across our state.”
“Republican lawmakers are trying to micromanage local law enforcement decisions by threatening to gut state aid by 15% for our local communities — that’s a non-starter,” Evers spokeswoman Britt Cudaback said in a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We shouldn’t be threatening law enforcement with deep budget cuts, we should be working together with local law enforcement to improve public safety, reduce crime, and keep dangerous drugs and violent criminals off of our streets.”
She added, “After years of the state asking local law enforcement and communities to do more with less, we only just recently secured historic shared revenue increases under which most municipalities will see a 20% increase in state support — and now Republican lawmakers want to essentially take that away.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, State Rep. Tyler August, R-Walworth, criticized Evers for jumping the gun on an immigration enforcement bill that has not yet been made publicly available.
“Legislative Republicans are looking to partner with President Trump to ensure local law enforcement all across Wisconsin are working with the federal government to remove criminals from our communities that are here illegally,” August said.
“Governor Evers has blindly promised to veto a bill he hasn’t seen, which isn’t surprising since his motto has been to govern by veto. Evers’ and Wisconsin Democrats’ extreme positions on immigration make it very unlikely they would agree to deport felons that are illegal aliens.”
Fox News Digital also reached out to the governor’s office for comment.
Evers joins a growing list of state and local Democratic officials vowing to push back on the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration.
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