ICE Out!
Last Saturday morning, I attended the Ozaukee County Indivisible meeting at the Cedarburg Public Library along with close to 100 other people. Keri Wuenstel ran a great meeting. As I was sitting there, next to a fellow Ozaukee county Dem member, he showed me the video on his phone of Alex Pretti being executed by ICE murderers in Minneapolis. All I could say was WTF. Seriously. As we know the Trumpers – Noem and Bovino and Trump himself – all bombarded the media with their lies. They don’t care.
A friend of mine who lives in St. Croix County was telling me on Tuesday (we sit in the NRB meetings together) about how awful it is in their little town. They live about 35 minutes from the Twin Cities. She is a retired public health nurse. She said ICE is on construction sites, in restaurants, and going after cleaners in schools. A note was shared with her by a teacher in the school district in which she lives by one of the cleaners in the school. The cleaner apologized that she would no longer be able to clean her classroom, because it was too dangerous for her with ICE in the community.
ICE is building a facility along Highway 45 near the Washington/Waukesha border. Will Wisconsinites have the same camaraderie and community competence as Minnesotans? In Ozaukee County, our sheriff has not signed on to an agreement to use our jail for their needs. Both Washington and Waukesha have signed 287(g) agreements. A general description of the 287(g) program is a partnership allowing local law enforcement to sign agreements with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to act as deputized immigration officers. These agreements, often focused on jail enforcement, allow local officers to identify, process, and detain non-citizens in local jails for potential deportation. As of Jan. 19, 2026, more than a dozen Wisconsin County Sheriff offices have signed on.
It is becoming really clear to me that folks on the pro-ICE side of these issues simply do not view the world as I do. Kyle Rittenhouse at age 17 showed up on Aug. 25, 2020, in Kenosha at a Black Lives Matter protest with an AR-15 style weapon. No, Kyle Rittenhouse is not a hero, and that will be the last time I will mention his name. The Kenosha police gave him water the day he shot three people, two of them fatally. They did not take away his gun, throw him on the ground and then shoot him in the back 10 times. He was acquitted of all charges, including first-degree intentional homicide, on Nov. 19, 2021, after claiming he acted in self-defense. Stunning trial and verdict.
Look for ways to help out our brothers and sisters in Minnesota. Be vigilant in our communities. Step up when asked.
Thank you as always for reading.