Immigrations and Customs Enforcement began their weekend enforcement surge in Wisconsin with a list of 250 individuals whom they planned to detain, but were only successful in arresting 83 of them, the agency revealed to U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan during a meeting Thursday.
It is not clear at this point if the remaining 167 people remain targets of a future raid, according to Pocan's Spokesperson Ron Boehmer. He said he didn't know why ICE only arrested a third of the people on its list and wasn’t sure if that means those people are no longer in the state or if another enforcement surge could be pending.
Pocan met with ICE officials to discuss their surprise visit to Wisconsin and to call for better communication between the federal agency and local officials in the future.
“During my meeting with officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, I asked many questions, but unfortunately, did not get many answers,” Pocan said. “However, the agency did state that they would investigate these issues and give me answers.”
At this point, the agency cannot disclose how many agents are working in Wisconsin or the 2nd Congressional District, what offenses those detained had committed or the names of those detained, Pocan said. They also did not reveal ways to get in contact with the detainees, nor whether agents followed proper protocol regarding medical conditions or minors.
ICE claimed it alerted local law enforcement over the weekend but declined to provide any call logs of who they attempted to or when.
“Finally, we know that the recent surge in arrests is a direct result of President Trump’s immigration policy and that the agency is following his orders,” Pocan said. “We will continue to press the agency for additional information.”
