ICE IN WISCONSIN
“The wrong Amazon is burning. The wrong ICE is melting!” goes one particularly impactful slogan at leftist protests. I like it because it encompasses a number of important issues that we must all fight against simultaneously such as climate change. It alludes to the consumerist, monopolistic enterprise that is Amazon (which is doing its own atrocities in the tech space, such as the establishment of data centers like we have here in Wisconsin.) Obviously the final piece, “the wrong ICE,” refers to Immigration and Customs Enforcement who seem to be evolving from a racist apparatus targeting families to Donald Trump’s own secret police/slave patrol, as recommended by fascist academic Curtis Yarvin’s “Butterfly Revolution”.
ICE has been a plague on Wisconsin for over two decades, but following the murder of Renee Good in Minneapolis, moderate Democrats like Sara Rodriguez are planting their feet down and declaring enough is enough.The Lt. Governor loudly aligned herself in opposition to the agency's recent actions with all of the firm and confrontational language one would hope to hear from a Democratic, Governor-hopeful.
A press release from her campaign reads “Rodriguez outlined a clear set of actions to protect communities and uphold the rule of law, including safeguarding sensitive locations like schools, hospitals, courthouses, child-care centers, domestic violence shelters, and places of worship; requiring judicial warrants for civil immigration arrests; mandating that federal agents clearly identify themselves and use body cameras; demanding full transparency around ICE facilities and operations in Wisconsin; and ensuring meaningful accountability when constitutional rights are violated.”
Before we get into the merits of the proposal however, it is GOOD that she is pushing back and using language that has been missing from the mouths of the monied moderates in the party. Her boss Tony Evers, in his classic style, thinks we should instead obey in advance, saying “I think banning things absolutely will ramp up the actions of our folks in Washington, D.C.” Rodriguez pushed back: “For too long Democrats have dialed back actions in hopes President Trump doesn’t escalate, and that’s not what happens…He always escalates.” Governor Evers’ legacy in Madison will be his pussy-footing around taking serious action as it is called for.
In fairness he is not completely incorrect that some of those proposals will not succeed. Call it pragmatism generously, but with no legal means to enforce them, Evers has correctly stated that these proposals are not viable. There is a valid critique of Sara Rodriguez and her response to ICE. It is unfortunately characteristic of what we have come to expect from her campaign and quite possibly her tenure as a governor if elected. These proposals contain some hard language (albeit too late), but without muscle behind them. All in all, it reads more like campaigning than meaningful opposition to ICE. To do that, a Governor may need to propose some bold executive orders barring law enforcement from cooperating with ICE, (in fact Democratic county executives and legislators as a block need to seriously defund local sheriff’s offices who have the most autonomy to act on ICE’s behalf!) Or course it may also be helpful for the Governor to have some legislation to specifically tackle DHS and the way they operate with state resources.
Thankfully there is already a package of bills that will restrain ICE. It’s called “Keep Families Together. ” Wisconsin ACLU summarized them:
The No Secret Police Act (LRB-4042) demands transparency — no more masked officers snatching people off the street.
Due Process for All (LRB-4207) guarantees fairness by funding civil legal aid so immigrants are not left defenseless against the full weight of the government.
The Ban on State Support for Immigration Detention Centers (LRB-4475) prevents Wisconsin’s already overcrowded, inhumane jails and other facilities from being misused to cage non-criminal immigrants at taxpayer expense.
The bans on ICE collaboration (AB 57 and LRB-4415) protect community trust by ensuring that our schools, hospitals, and public spaces remain sanctuaries — not ambush zones and prohibits local law enforcement from detaining individuals solely based on immigration status
These bills were introduced last August, months before Renee Good’s murder made strident opposition to ICE politically safe. The Socialist Caucus and other allies of immigrants took lead on them. I have been unable to locate a public endorsement of these bills by Rodriguez or Evers.
We Can Make an Impact In Wisconsin
It is frustrating to imagine that the only way we combat Trumpism is to do so electorally. All of the talk of the midterms being this turning point where we can provide checks on the president (and as a result the data centers, ICE, climate change, etc.) feels distant because we have been here before. We had him beaten in 2020, and Democrats let it slip through their fingers. We have no reason to believe that Democrats in Congress will present a genuine opposition (or that Trump will cede power anyway!) We need to be intentional about who is on the ballot opposing Trump and his allies.
Furthermore these bills present tactical steps that meaningfully impact ICE and its ability to function in our state. My favorite one extends state defense attorney's resources to assist the people scooped up by ICE. One of the bill’s co-authors is Representative Francesca Hong, who is also an opponent to Sara Rodriguez in vying for the Governor’s office. We have talked about her a lot, she needs no introduction!
This local election presents a reset and in this moment we can actually stand against Trumpism by being bold. Bolder than Sara Rodriguez, who I am not comfortable saying acted opportunistically, (the way some Democrats are fundraising off of this tragedy is ghoulish shit) but with a shameless safety. I believe that these are policy goals that align with what she believes in but has moved too slowly on because of the intractable web she and those in the Wisconsin Democratic Party operate in. We need action instead of excuses, and we cannot keep holding out hope for the mythical Democratic Trifecta.
There are a diversity of tactics to opposing ICE. All of the protesting on the ground is important, even when it feels like it isn’t. There is an abundance of shit to stand against in 2026, but we have to keep focused and combine efforts where applicable. Referring again to that slogan “The wrong Amazon is burning. The wrong ICE is melting.” In our opposition to Data Centers we call for the beheading of the FASCIST forces that enforce laws that would pollute our water while also remembering these powers also seek to round up immigrants and that shot Renee Good.
The Energy We Need From Sara Rodriguez and Other Democratic Candidates
The diversity of tactics to oppose fascism will include electoral politics. We can oppose the right electorally with strong candidates who do not wait for the glacial inaction of their monied benefactors, or for the next election. Francesca Hong released this statement from January 9th on her Instagram. This is the energy that elected officials need to move with if we are going to be able to stop ICE from kidnapping our neighbors and loved ones.
“Last year 32 people died in ICE detention. This shit is not new. Silverio Viegas Gonzalez was fatally shot in Chicago after he dropped his sons off in school. So when people say ICE is out of control or just needs to be reigned in, they are missing the point because ICE isn’t broken. It is functioning exactly as it was designed, and agents are doing what they were hired to do.
ICE is operating as a racist, domestic paramilitary. Like a literal secret police terrorising communities. Individuals responsible for these killings need to be prosecuted. ICE is the vehicle for enforcing fascism in the Trump regime. It brutalizes people, they disappear people, and they kill people. Then the regime turns on its propaganda machine lying through its teeth
We all saw JD Vance’s bullshit yesterday, smearing victims.
ICE also has a $28.7 billion dollar budget so abolishing ICE is actually meaningful policy because it eliminates a dangerous agency and can increase our safety. It’s about demilitarizing an anti-immigration system. This agency cannot be reformed, it must be dismantled. Abolishing ICE isn’t radical, it is the right thing to do.
And right now they want us to be scared, they want us to stop showing up. They don’t want us to reimagine something better. But I know that fascism can collapse. We have to keep caring, we have to keep showing up. We have to imagine better and we can take action at the community level.”
