Trump's 'border czar' issues warning to Gov. Evers on ICE guidance
WASHINGTON, D.C. (CBS 58) -- Gov. Tony Evers is responding to a warning issued by the Trump administration's border czar, who criticized the governor over a workplace policy on how state employees should respond to the presence of federal immigration officers. Tom Homan insinuated the governor could face felony charges.
Evers accused Tom Homan, President Donald Trump's border czar, of threatening to arrest him for guidance issued to state workers last month on how to respond if federal immigration officials arrived at their workplace.
Homan said Evers should "wait to see what's coming" after reporters at the White House asked him about the governor's memo directing state workers to seek legal counsel if Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrive at state agencies.
"Chilling threats like this should be of concern to every Wisconsinite and every American who cares about this country and the values we hold dear," Evers said in a video posted on social media.
Wisconsin has found itself in the spotlight over the subject immigration since FBI agents arrested Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan last Friday.
Federal prosecutors accuse Dugan of running interference for an illegal immigrant who was in her court on a battery charge. They allege she directed the defendant to a different area of the courtroom away from where ICE officers were seeking to pick him up.
On Thursday in Washington, Homan was asked about Evers' memo and responded by saying, 'Wait 'til you see what's coming."
"I meant what I said," Homan continued. "You cannot support what we’re doing, and you can support sanctuary cities if that’s what you want to. But if you cross that line of impediment or knowingly harboring or concealing an illegal alien, that is a felony, and we’ll treat it as such."
Republicans are outraged over a section of the memo that instructs state workers to not answer questions if approached by a federal immigration officer.
"Do not answer questions," the memo's fourth section reads. "Including when an agent asks about someone you know or presents a warrant with an individual name."
Evers has defended the guidance, and he's pointed to the section immediately prior emphasizing state employees should first contact a state lawyer before cooperating with any ICE agent's request for information.
"The goal of this guidance was simple," Evers said Friday. "To provide clear, consistent instructions to state employees and ensure they have a lawyer to help them comply with all federal state laws, nothing more, nothing less."
Republicans have argued the memo undermines federal law and defies Trump administration policy. State Rep. Calvin Callahan posted to the social media platform, X, what appeared to be an AI-generated image of President Trump arresting Evers at the state Capitol.
Howard Schweber, a political science professor at UW-Madison who's taught courses on constitutional law, said he believed there was no legitimate case to be made for finding Evers' memo to be a violation of law.
"I would say just in terms of the way the memo is written, it's a stretch," he said. "The only thing the memo suggests, it requires is that state employees consult with counsel, legal officials, before taking actions or turning over materials."
Schweber added state employees have no obligation to cooperate with federal officers seeking to enforce a federal law. He pointed to the longstanding "anti-commandeering doctrine," which dates back to Supreme Court findings in the 1800s and has been upheld since then.
"That says state officials cannot be used to enforce federal law and have no obligation to cooperate in that venture," Schweber said.
Schweber pointed to Arizona Republicans using the doctrine in 2021 to pass a law that ordered state and local police to stop enforcing federal gun laws.
Schweber said if the memo instructed state workers to harbor suspected criminals or misdirect federal officers, as Dugan is accused of doing, that would be different. In this case, however, he said the order to first contact a lawyer is entirely legal.
"We're not talking about people who are criminal suspects, but we're talking about people who are in a complicated legal position because of the interaction with federal and state forces," Schweber said.
The full memorandum can be found below: