Winnebago Sheriffs Enter Into ICE Agreement

OSHKOSH, WI- (WISS) – The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department has joined eight other counties in the state and entered into Warrant Service Officer agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

Nine Wisconsin sheriff’s departments now collaborate with ICE. They are as follows:

• Brown
• Fond du Lac
• Manitowoc
• Marquette
• Sheboygan
• Washington
• Waushara
• Winnebago

Winnebago and Washington Counties entered the agreements on Monday, March 3, 2025. The other counties have been working with ICE since 2020.

The Department of Homeland Security says the program trains local police to become ICE warrant service officers. The officers can then serve warrants on behalf of the agency inside local jails and correctional facilities where they work. ICE then has 48 hours to take the immigrant into custody. 

The ACLU of Wisconsin claims the 287(g) agreements and other ICE collaboration programs embolden police to engage in racial profiling. 

“Trump’s chaotic, unfair, and inhumane immigration policies will harm and destabilize Wisconsin’s families, communities, and economy – especially in parts of Wisconsin where local law enforcement agencies collaborate with ICE,” said Senior Staff Attorney Tim Muth. “The reality is that cooperation with ICE makes our communities not only less welcoming to immigrants but also makes us all less safe.”

The ACLU of Wisconsin has urged local sheriffs not to enter into more 287(g) agreements and to withdraw from existing agreements, which allow termination at any time.