Madison Police Department Chief Mike Koval said Sunday on a Wisconsin talk show that city law enforcement will uphold its current inclusive immigration policies in months to come, despite not being a formal sanctuary city.
“We will not be using our local authority to sort of hunt down folks based on immigration or documentation issues,” Koval said on a WISN news program. “We’re not going do traffic stops, contact, detainment on the basis of people who might theoretically be here as an undocumented person.”
A sanctuary city is a city where local law enforcement does not look to an encountered person’s immigration status as grounds for prosecuting.
Koval noted there exists “no formalistic resolution ordinance or anything in the charter” that suggests Madison has sanctuary city status.
Sanctuary cities have become an increasingly prevalent topic as Trump nears the Oval Office. The president-elect filled his campaign with promises to deport undocumented immigrants; one tactic includes the threat of defunding local governments supporting sanctuary city legislation.
Chief Koval acknowledged the importance of federal funding
College campuses across the nation are also making efforts to protect undocumented populations.
UW-Madison students made several unsuccessful attempts since Election Day to have the university declared a sanctuary campus, though Chancellor Rebecca Blank recently signaled her support for undocumented students. Both the university’s Faculty Senate and the Associated Students of Madison have also called for protection of undocumented students.
