Milwaukee County officials discuss creating new protocols following recent ICE arrests

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) --- Concerns remain following two recent immigration arrests inside the Milwaukee County courthouse. County officials say they're working on a plan to respond to those concerns.

During a meeting Tuesday, the Milwaukee County Judiciary Committee voted to move forward with a resolution to address the issue. This comes after the recent arrest of two men in the courthouse by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office says they were only notified about one of the arrests shortly before it happened. The second arrest, local officials say they knew nothing about before it occurred.

"What we did here, was we presented a resolution which calls on our county executive, our sheriff's department, and legal counsel...to come together and determine a plan, protocol for how we handle these cases moving forward, to ensure that everyone feels safe to come to the courthouse," said Marcelia Nicholson, Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors chairwoman and co-author of the resolution.

The approved resolution looks to create a plan for how local officials will handle future cases relating to ICE inside public buildings such as the courthouse.

"We have, for the first time, a president who is willing to break the law openly and defy court orders to achieve an established objective, and we can't be any part involved in facilitating that," said District 16 Supervisor Justin Bielinski.

Officials expressed the need for the courthouse to be protected and for interference of the justice process not to occur. Several supervisors also called for educational material to be available within the building to people who may need resources about what their rights are.

Four supervisors voted to adopt the resolution. Co-author Juan Miguel Martinez voted yes, along with supervisors Justin Bielinski, Sky Capriolo, and Willie Johnson. District 9 Supervisor Patti Logsdon abstained from voting on the resolution.

"My abstention is not a reflection of indifference or opposition to the values of justice or fairness. Rather it's a reflection of the legal uncertainty surrounding the passing and implications of this resolution," said Logsdon.

Between pubic and committee comments, the resolution was overwhelmingly supported during the meeting. "We have to make sure that as local representatives of our communities, that we make sure that we fight every single day against the unlawful administration," said Supervisor Martinez.

The resolution will go to the full county board for a vote on April 24.