H 32°, L 7° | Tomorrow: 
H 17°, L 4°Since the election of Sheriff Dave Mahoney in 2006, Dane County’s undocumented immigrant population has been subjected to unprecedented harassment from local law enforcement, showering the community with fear and mistrust. According to Mahoney’s own department, over 500 undocumented workers have been reported to federal immigration authorities, often resulting in deportation and/or long-term prison holds.
With the aid of many political, legal and media allies, the community has fought back, using a variety of avenues to pressure the Sheriff to reverse his policy.
This February, former Dane County Supervisor Ashok Kumar, District 5, called for a public hearing to investigate Mahoney’s “anti-immigrant” policies. At the packed meeting, many local residents spoke to the violations of civil rights — not to mention basic human decency — for which the sheriff was responsible. Others spoke to how the policy ironically abetted crime, with so many people reluctant to contact law enforcement for fear of being deported.
Then, in May, approximately 800 people — including students, citizens and non-citizens — rallied in protest against the ongoing deportations. Consistent with the spirit of the sanctuary legislation passed in 2004, the demand was an immediate end to legalized xenophobia in Madison and the surrounding communities. According to the protestors, ours should not be a community where people without the right paperwork can disappear into a black hole, held in prison indefinitely and sent back to their country of origin — often without the notification of family members.
And just last month, the Equal Opportunity Commission called for a public hearing to discuss the issue. In another packed meeting, the sheriff was bombarded with complaints and concerns about the effects of his policies. Several family members of those in prison spoke emotionally about the fate of their loved ones, pleading with the sheriff to have them released. The mother of a man currently being held for a minor traffic violation spoke of the fears she had for her son, his destination still undetermined. Of the dozens who testified, not one spoke in support of the Sheriff’s Department.
As for the members of the EOC itself, their responses ranged from confusion to denunciation. Progressive Dane County Supervisor Barbara Vedder made it clear that she and the other members of the committee could not see why cooperation with federal authorities was necessary. Fabiola Hamdan made particularly penetrating criticisms, stating that, because of her own ethnic heritage, she did not feel safe talking with any of the sheriff’s deputies on the street.
“Let’s be honest,” she said. “This policy is targeting people with accents and those who look like they might not be born here.” Near the end of the hearing, she expressed her “disappointment and frustration” with the sheriff’s lack of transparency and failure to justify his actions.
Support for the immigrant community has also come from the National Lawyers Guild, The Capital Times and several members of the Board of Supervisors.
Still, the sheriff has not budged. His proactive behavior in getting people deported — “legislating from the badge” in an entirely reprehensible way — makes no sense from either a legal or humanitarian standpoint. Some have speculated that the sheriff has ambitions for higher office, a hypothesis that makes all the more sense in light of his training with the FBI last summer.
Because the Sheriff’s Department has repeatedly shunned the criticisms of Mahoney’s policy from immigrants and non-immigrants alike, local activists are now opting for a new avenue to force him to reverse his actions — cutting off his funding. Because the Dane County Board of Supervisors has little jurisdiction over the sheriff’s operations, the only way to force him to change his policy is to limit the money his department is allotted from taxpayers.
With the county’s final budget decision to be made next week, progressive supervisors are introducing an amendment to divert newly requested funds into the Workers Rights Center, a local nonprofit that counsels immigrants and other workers. The message of the amendment is clear: Until the sheriff ends his xenophobic policy, his funding will go toward advocacy for the people he is so intent on demonizing and abusing.
In conjunction with the budget hearing, several campus organizations — including Student Progressive Dane, MultiCultural Student Coalition, MEChA, the Black Student Union, Campus Antiwar Network and others — are sponsoring a rally in solidarity with the immigrant community, urging local politicians to use the power of the purse to end the deportations. For those interested in attending, the rally will be next Monday (Nov. 17) at 5:30 p.m. on Library Mall.
Kyle Szarzynski ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in history and philosophy.
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oh you showed them, you shooweeddd them
a rally. wow. progress guys, you sure are stickin it to the man!!!
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Like always, Kyle is the voice of reason in a rubbish paper. Well written Kyle. This Sheriff needs to be canned asap. Can someone call this nazi up and tell him he don’t live in kentucky.. this is madison fucking wisconsin!
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This article reminds of the progressive leadership that we had in the past: kumar, king, baldwin.. all representing students. Now we have Eli Judge.. is that do-nothing idiot gonna do us all a favor and just not run again. If he does he doesn’t stand a chance.
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yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
let’s STICK IT TO THE MAN! STICK IT TO THE MANNNNNNNNNN
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Your article does not make any sense. His policies are not anti-immigrant, they are anti-criminal. I suggest you take a class on immigration law where you would find out that these people that are being deported are not here legally and are breaking the law. Enforcing a law…hmmm…to me that kind of sounds like what a sheriff and the police department are supposed to do. If he were to bend and not enforce the laws that you aren’t happy with to get money, that kind of sounds bribery and corruption to me. Your thinking is completely backwards on this whole situation. Why don’t you advocate for and have rallies that support LEGAL immigration?
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Mahoney the Dough Face!
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Student Progressive Dane is absolutely wrong for about the 347,205th time in the past year. All Mahoney has done is followed the law…illegal is illegal. For someone who is about to graduate college, the inability to comprehend such a basic fact is frightening.
If you don’t like the law, change the law, not the sheriff.
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“resulting in deportation and/or long-term prison holds”
WHAT! Criminals held responsible for their crimes? And the the Sheriff is responsible?
OFF WITH HIS HEAD!
What does he think he is, some kind of law enforcement officer?
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I just don’t get all the outrage with this, aside from standard far left needing to pissed about something. I’m not a fan of anti-immigration laws or movements, but as of right now the law in this country is that if you are an illegal (or undocumented, whatever you want to call them) immigrant, you can be deported. Is what the sheriff does drastically out of line with the rest of the country?
I also see Kyle mention a lot about Madison calling itself a “sanctuary city,” or something like that. I’m afraid all that makes up is some legislative masturbation. You see, the Constitution has something in it called the Supremacy Clause. The Supremacy Clause says that the law of the US Constitution and the US Congress is the law of the land, and it supercedes any state or local laws. The US law says that undocumented immigrants get deported, with some exceptions. The fact that the law is not enforced evenly doesn’t change the fact that Madison’s “sanctuary law” is entirely invalid.
I’m not sure if I agree with what the Sheriff is doing or not. But that’s largely because Kyle is doing a terrible job of explaining it. I’m just not seeing what’s terribly wrong about arresting and eventually deporting people who are in the country illegally. Coming here illegally is a risk, people choose to take that risk, and some of them lose.
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wait wait…kick out the sheriff for enforcing the law??
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People who come to this country illegally have made the conscious decision to take advantage of the many benefits and services available in our communities. In doing so, they have accepted the possibility that they will be deported. Any violotions of human dignity associated with deporting these individuals is a worthwhile concern, but there is no valid argument that the deportation itself is unwarranted or unforseen by the people in question. Perhaps you could explain why illegal immigrants should be allowed full protection of the laws that benefit them while remaining immune to those that do not.
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How DARE the sheriff enforce the law! FOR SHAME!
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What all you idiots are missing is that the sheriff is not following the law by doing what he is doing. Like Kyle says he is going out of his way to get people deported
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I won’t even dignify this article with a well thought out response.
To quote the great Joe Biden:
“Is this a joke?”
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undocumented immigrant - can’t you spell illegal? Hey, and I’m for fixing the supply pipe for LEGAL immigration, but writing thoughtless articles does nothing for your humanistic cause. Rally the lemmings! Yes we can! Yes we can…..jump off the cliff!
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ughhh I hate when I end up agreeing with Kyle
GOOOOOO Sanctuary cities, seriously we are one of the only top liberal cities that doesn’t at least try to be a sanctuary city. Lets pick it up.
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I find it funny that people who rally against this type of social justice work, tend to be the same people calling for blood when cops enforce underage drinking laws at bars and parties. Hypocrisy fueled by Keystone Light and Spotted Cow is always so delicious.
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Steve Nass has apparently been right all along. They’re obviously failing to teach anything of value at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. This soon-to-be-a-graduate’s opinion would be laughable if it weren’t so frightening.
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The sheriff reports ALL arrested persons to the country of their origin… If you’re from Australia, they are informed. If you’re from China, they’re informed. And if you’re from Mexico, guess what, they are too.
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You know, the previous sheriff, a Republican by the way, didn’t do the reporting either. He was more concerned with catching dangerous criminals and he wanted to make sure that anyone who was a victim of a crime felt comfortable going to the police. That’s hardly a radical position. It’s about priorities.
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Dave Mahoney would be an excellent choice for Obama’s Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Mahoney has his priorities in order while others clamor for complete disorder.
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Don’t forget who took over this fucking land!It’s exact pigs like you who should be taken out of this country! You totally forget about the human struggles don’t you? You totally forget that all of these sets of laws has been forced upon to continue your white priviledge that you have had for years.
Read a couple of books & then start talking.