President Donald Trump signed an executive order allowing for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants during his first day in office, Jan. 20.
The executive order is federal, overriding any local or state laws, and Democratic state politicians are discussing what they can to protect immigrants in Wisconsin, according to state Rep. Alex Joers, D-Middleton, and state Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison.
“We do not have to accept his outrageous, illegal and unconstitutional actions as a fact or a foregone conclusion,” Roys said. “We still have our right to protest. We still have the right to make sure that our local and state governments are working for us, and not to try and take away our rights — as Trump is attempting to do.”
Both Roys and Joers emphasized the steps Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul is taking to prevent Trump’s policies, which they said will have negative effects on immigrants.
In the executive order, Trump claims the 14th Amendment, which establishes naturalized and birth citizenship, was wrongfully interpreted. Under the executive order, Trump has created new guidelines for birthright citizenship, taking away birthright citizenship from any children born in the U.S. while their parents were here illegally, and sometimes even legally, according to the executive order.
Kaul and Gov. Tony Evers announced that Wisconsin will be joining various other states in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration for violating the constitution with the enactment of the executive order, according to a report from WPR.
“We’re very fortunate to have our Attorney General, Josh Kaul, putting forward, joining the effort,” Joers said. “Clearly it’s a large problem because there are so many states joining into this lawsuit.”
Many of the executive orders Trump signed revoke or move away from Biden’s more narrow deportation criteria, and allow the pursuit of everyone who is in the country illegally, according to AP News.
Managing attorney at the Community Immigration Law Center in Madison Aissa Olivarez said local immigration lawyers have an important part to play regarding the policy change.
“We know that the need [for lawyers to represent immigrants] is exponential right now,” Olivarez said.
The presence of ICE in the Madison community is not a new phenomenon, as they have always been in the community making targeted arrests, Olivarez said.
Following the executive orders, the most significant change the Madison community will likely see is mass deportations, according to Olivarez.
“When we hear the phrase mass deportation, we know that this is going to look very different,” Olivarez said.
Law enforcement officers’ abilities are expanding from being able to arrest certain people to expedited removal, meaning they are able to deport people who have been in the U.S. for less than two years, without the right to see an immigration judge, according to Olivarez.
Previously, expedited removal was only used on the southern and northern borders of the U.S., but Trump’s policies allow for interior states to have expedited removal, Olivarez said.
Olivarez advises people worried about the possibility of a mass deportation in Madison to collect money to help pay bonds for people who have been detained, and donate to organizations that are going to courts and litigating to get people out on bond.
There aren’t any policies or laws that would explicitly protect undocumented immigrants, because federal law controls immigration, Olivarez said.
While certain people in Dane County, like Olivarez, hope to play the role of someone who helps to aid any immigrants who are at risk for deportation, others in the community may play the role of enforcing the executive order.
A CapTimes report revealed that the Dane County Sheriff’s Office gets reimbursed tens of thousands of dollars for, once a year, voluntarily sharing the information of undocumented people who have been convicted of crimes and spent at least four days in jail.
In response to the executive order the Dane County’s Sheriff Office said their first priority is ensuring the safety and well-being of all citizens.
“Creating barriers and fear for the victims and survivors of crime is not congruent with our mission and vision statements,” Sheriff Barrett said in an email to The Badger Herald.
Fears surrounding mass deportations in Wisconsin extend beyond undocumented immigrants to many citizens, as concerns for the effect on the state economy arise, according to Roys.
In 2022, immigrants contributed $3 billion dollars in taxes and made up about 6% of Wisconsin’s labor force, according to Roys.
A 2024 report from the University of Wisconsin School for Workers showed that 10,000 undocumented workers do 70% of the labor on dairy farms.
“The impact on our economy, if they were to actually pursue a policy of mass deportation would be devastating,” Roys said. “We rely on documented and undocumented immigrants, especially here in Wisconsin where agriculture is our industry.”