Is your sheriff’s department fascist?

The following is adapted from a post by Kirk Bangstad of the Minoqua Brewing Company.

The letter below is the template for an open records request that MBC sent to the 5 most Fascist Wisconsin county sheriffs MBC knew of.

Why are they Fascist? Because they’ve partnered with ICE to carry out Trump’s Fascist policies against immigrants in Wisconsin.

A recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report revealed that several sheriffs across the state have either joined or are considering joining ICE’s 287(g) program, which allows local law enforcement to detain suspected noncitizens for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released.

• Washington and Winnebago Counties have already signed on, giving their deputies direct authority to work with ICE on immigration detentions.
• Oneida County is actively considering the program, according to Sheriff Grady Hartman.
• Crawford and Burnett Counties have gone even further, indicating they are willing to report crime victims and witnesses to ICE—turning local law enforcement into an extension of the deportation machine.
• Burnett County appears to be the most aggressive, answering “yes” to every form of ICE cooperation, including asking about immigration status at traffic stops and sharing the names of noncitizens booked into the jail.

MBC sent the following letter to all five sheriffs departments to discover if they’ve said anything illegal in their communications with ICE, and to also make “good trouble” by creating work for the departments to do instead of hunting innocent people.

Anyone can submit open records requests, but it costs money to have sheriff’s departments look for this stuff and send info back to you.

MBC used their Super PAC to cover costs for their requests, but if you want to throw your sabot into the gears and have a little disposable income, you can submit as many open record requests as you’re able to your local sheriff’s office.

Remember to adapt the letter to your own state by citing your state’s statutes.

Subject: Open Records Request Pursuant to Wisconsin State Statute 19.34

Dear Custodian of Records,

Pursuant to Wisconsin State Statute 19.34, I am requesting copies of the following public records:

Any and all written or electronic communications between the XXX County Sheriff’s Office and any employee or representative of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) within the past 60 (sixty) days.

Any and all written or electronic communications between an employee or agent of the XXX County Sheriff’s Office and any employee or representative of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) within the past 60 (sixty) days.

Any and all call-log information documenting telephonic communications between XXX County Sheriff’s Office and any employee or representative of ICE, including dates, times, and parties to the call, along with any and all recordings of the calls within the past 60 (sixty) days.

Any records of in-person meetings between XXX County Sheriff’s Office and any employee or representative of ICE, including dates, times, parties present, along with any and all recordings or meeting notes within the last 60 (sixty) days.

Any and all reports, documents, memorandi, written communications, electronic communications, or similar in the possession of the XXX County Sheriff’s Office which refer to or makes mention of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) within the past 60 (sixty) days.

Any and all written or electronic communications between the XXX County Sheriff’s Office and the Donald Trump Presidential Campaign or its officers, manager, employees, volunteers or agents, which refer to or make mention of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) or immigration or immigrants from March of 2022 until the present day.

Any and all written or electronic communication between an employee or agent of the XXX County Sheriff’s Office and the Donald Trump Presidential Campaign or its officers, manager, employees, volunteers or agents, which refer to or make mention of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) or immigration or immigrants from March of 2022 until the present day.

Any records of in-person meetings between XXX County Sheriff’s Office and any employee or representative of ICE, including dates, times, parties present, along with any and all recordings or meeting notes within the last 60 (sixty) days.

It is important to remember that the location of a record does not determine whether it is public and subject to disclosure; rather, it is the nature of the communication itself. Accordingly, if an email, text message, instant message, or chat pertains to government business, it constitutes a public record—regardless of whether it was created or maintained on a personal device, saved on a home computer, or stored in the cloud.

I request that you respond to this request in writing within 10 days. If any portion of the request is denied, please provide a written explanation citing the specific legal exemption(s) justifying the denial. If records exist but contain both exempt and non-exempt information, please provide the non-exempt portions.

Additionally, we request that any applicable fees be waived pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 19.35(3)(e). However, if there are any associated costs in fulfilling this request, please notify me in advance. Whenever possible, I request that the records be provided in electronic format.

If you have any questions regarding this request, you may contact me at XXX

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Best regards,

XXX

Contact information is going to vary state by state, county by county. Here is the info for the 5 sheriff’s departments that Minocqua Brewing Company wrote to: