Milwaukee Co. Committee Wants More Info on Sheriff's Illegals Policy

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (WTAQ) - A Milwaukee County committee says it wants more information about Sheriff David Clarke’s policy for dealing with illegal immigrants.

But Thursday’s request by the Judiciary Committee fell short of the full investigation sought by an immigrant rights’ group. The head of Voces de la Frontera asked for a probe into the sheriff’s links with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

Christine Neumann-Ortiz said illegal immigrants were being deported because they got traffic tickets and other minor offenses. And she said it goes against the federal immigration policy that cracks down on those who commit terrorism and dangerous crimes.

The Milwaukee sheriff’s department got $135,000 from the federal government last year to cover the costs of detaining illegal immigrants. But deputy sheriff’s inspector Richard Schmidt said there’s no written agreement on holding immigrants.

He says deputies do not ask suspects about their immigration status. And when the immigration agency wants information from his department, Clarke says it gets what everybody else can obtain under the state’s public records law.