The U.S. Department of Homeland Security lists Shawano and Dane counties, as well as the cities of Madison and Milwaukee, as “sanctuary jurisdictions” for noncompliance with federal immigration laws and policies.
Shawano County officials are baffled as to why the county is on such a list.
“Prior to this publication, Shawano County had not received any formal notification from federal authorities regarding any noncompliance issues,” Shawano County Sheriff George Lenzner said in a statement. “Upon learning of our inclusion on this list, we proactively reached out to various state and federal agencies to find the reasons behind this designation and to understand the steps necessary for removal.”
Jim Davel, administrative coordinator for Shawano County, said the inclusion of the county must be a clerical error. Davel said he voted for Trump, as did 67% of Shawano County.
“We have no idea how we got on this list whatsoever right at this point,” Davel said. “I think it was just a big mix-up, probably some paperwork or something.”
Davel believes the administration may have confused the county’s vote in 2021 to become a “Second Amendment Sanctuary County,” which prohibits gun control measures, with it being a safe haven for immigrants. He said the county has approved no immigration sanctuary policies.
The list was published as the Trump administration ramps up efforts to follow through on the president’s campaign promises to remove millions of people who are in the country illegally.
The administration has said each listed jurisdiction will receive formal notification that the government has deemed them non-compliant and if they’re believed to be in violation of any federal criminal statutes.
DHS staff reiterated that the list was compiled using a number of factors, including whether the localities identified themselves as sanctuary jurisdictions, how much they complied with federal officials enforcing immigration laws, if they had restrictions on sharing information with immigration enforcement or had any legal protections for people in the country illegally.
Lenzner said his office was contacted by U.S. Rep. Tony Wied, who offered his support for the county.
“His office has been instrumental in being a liaison with federal contacts to seek clarity on this matter,” Lenzner said. “At present, we continue to engage with federal agencies to resolve this issue. Shawano County does not identify as a sanctuary jurisdiction and remains committed to upholding federal immigration laws and policies.”
The sheriff added that county officials will no longer participate in interviews or respond to media questions concerning this issue.
“Our focus remains on working directly with the appropriate federal agencies to address and resolve the situation,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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