Gov. Scott Walker said Wednesday he does not expect the Senate to pass the “sanctuary cities” bill, one of the two bills that brought thousands of protesters to the Capitol last week.
“I don’t think they’re going to, and I’m just fine with that,” Walker told reporters after addressing the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce Business Day in Madison.
The “sanctuary cities” bill would prohibit employees of local governments to inquire about the immigration status of lawfully detained or arrested individuals.
While the bill would prohibit local law enforcement from reporting undocumented workers to immigration officials and from inquiring about people’s citizenship, it would allow law enforcement to ask about citizenship only for those that have committed a crime.
Opponents of the bill argue it would lead to racial profiling.
Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa, D-Milwaukee, spoke with Walker Thursday. Although she was pleased Walker doesn’t expect the bill to get to his desk, he does not seem willing to veto the second “anti-immigrant” bill that also inspired the protest, Zamarripa said.
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“It does appear that he is unwilling to veto SB-533, which would prohibit many immigrant Milwaukeeans from having access to a local identification card,” Zamarripa said in a statement.
Nancy Flores, Voces de la Frontera spokesperson, the organization that organized the “Day Without Latinos” protest, said she thinks Walker’s apathy toward the bill is a result of the efforts of the thousands of protesters who stood in opposition at the Capitol last week.
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But Flores said she was “cautiously optimistic” of the news that the Senate may not take up the bills.
Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, said he still wants the bill to come to a vote on the Senate floor, and that he would vote for the measure to go through, according to the Journal Times.
The Senate will hold one last session mid-March. The Senate has not yet scheduled a vote for the bill.
