To those who are feeling anxious and with
trepidation, please know that we do understand the
uncertain times that we are living in.
Dane County will continue to be strong.
We will continue to be compassionate,
and we will support one another.
And I want to emphasize that we are prepared to deal
with the many unknowns related to this incoming
administration.
We have been working tirelessly to coordinate our
work, whether it's the Human Services Department,
the Emergency Management Department,
Public Health, 9-1-1, the DOA, Court Council,
and of course the District Attorney and the Sheriff's
Office among some of the many departments that are
housed under county government.
So together, we are ready to respond swiftly and
effectively to the situations that will arise.
We realize that there will be chaos,
but we are preparing ourselves.
And we want to make sure that our community knows that.
We're looking at this as a time with many potential
disruptions that will necessitate county responses.
For example, through our Human Services Department,
including our Immigration Affairs Department,
the county provides information and education to
those who live in Dane County who might need help
navigating the services that we provide on a daily basis.
Our amazing, and I will put an explanation
point after that word.
Amazing county staff are prepared to continue to provide
these crucial services that may result in a disruption
of anything that happens in our community.
And that's because we know that when there is the potential
of removing our friends and neighbors from a community
or causing chaos in anyone's life,
it has an acute and long-term consequence to families,
to children, and to our economy.
We will continue to provide social services to those in need
to mitigate the impacts on our community
through our Human Services Department.
It is difficult to plan for the unknown.
And it is difficult to have answers to every possible
challenge that is going to come before us.
But we're working to assess those obstacles as they become
more clear to us.
And we know that this is going to continue over the next
year and forward.
We are working tirelessly to do our very best to prepare.
And we also need to be very honest with folks.
No one has all the answers right now.
But to quote the great Maya Angelou,
when someone shows you who they are,
you need to believe them.
In fact, we've seen reports out of Milwaukee
that a federal detention facility is being planned
in that community.
This is happening, folks.
This is happening.
And in Dane County, we're going to continue
to do things the Dane County way.
None of the services and programs that we're discussing now
are new and we're not deviating from what it is
that our moral fiber and the mission of county government
is to provide to the people who live work and play here.
So please continue to reach out.
If you're concerned about something, reach out.
If you're concerned about a loved one, reach out.
If you need services yourself, reach out.
If there's an emergency, call 911.
That's why we're here.
That's what Dane County does every single day
in and out is it helps our residents.
These programs are deeply rooted in our community's values
and they ensure that we are ready to face
these challenges head on.
I also encourage every single family,
including mine, to take time and prepare for various situations.
There are emergencies that by definition
that occur in our lives that we can do better to prepare for.
We've seen in real time emergencies in our community
and across our country, whether it's flooding,
tornadoes, wildfires, plan.
Take care of your family ahead of time.
And while we don't know exactly what this new administration
will be doing, we do know that they have been planning.
So it's crucial that our residents also have plans in place
to protect and support their families,
just like we've been doing here in county government,
planning across our agencies and with one another.
And finally, I just want to say that there is going to be a lot
of noise in the coming days.
It's already starting.
The incoming administration has grounded themselves in a belief
that the creation of division in chaos is good for politics,
not something that I believe.
And I'm asking you all not to fall into that mindset.
Real lives will be impacted by the decisions that are made
in the coming weeks by every single one of us.
These are real people.
They're our friends and our neighbors.
These are children that go to our schools.
And I'm asking you to keep your humanity,
even during times when political rhetoric is likely to be
heightened on TV and on every social media platform
that is out there.
But the bottom line is this.
I believe deeply in the people here in Dane County,
I know that we're going to remain strong,
that we are resilient and that we are compassionate,
most of all.
And with that, I'm going to turn it over to the district attorney
housing.
Thank you.
Thank you all for coming.
I have copies of my remarks here in English and in Spanish.
So feel free to take a hard copy.
Hello, I'm Ishmael Ozan, your Dane County district attorney.
I want to reinforce my office's commitment to supporting
every member of our diverse community who experiences the
trauma of victimization.
The right to safety, peace and dignity is a fundamental
collective value of Dane County government.
No one should feel the need to compromise this right due to
their fear of removal or separation from their loved ones
if they cooperate with our office.
We recognize that for immigrant members of our community,
the trauma of victimization can be compounded by the fear of
being questioned about their legal status and the uncertainty
of being involved in the criminal justice system.
I want to make it clear.
No matter who you are or where you come from, my office is
committed to helping make Dane County a safe and welcoming
place for all increased fear of mass deportations has already
inhibited some members of our most vulnerable populations from
reporting their victimization to law enforcement.
This reality perpetuates a cycle of violence and criminality
that have a chilling effect on our entire community.
Our schools, workplaces and neighborhoods become less safe
when our neighbors and loved ones are afraid to report crime
and engage in our criminal justice system.
We are committed to our mission to ensure every Dane County
resident, regardless of their legal status, feels safe cooperating
with our prosecutors and exercising their rights as a crime victim.
By offering culturally relevant trauma informed services,
our crime response program provides 24 seven services to victims
of crime, their families and witnesses on scene or in the
early stages of an investigation.
These services include crisis intervention, short and long-term
safety planning and referrals to mental health providers
and community partners.
Our victim witness unit is available to crime victims
throughout the criminal court process.
To provide information about court proceedings as well as offer
support and advocacy along the way.
We are proud to have a full-time bilingual bicultural staff
in both programs to assist victims and witnesses whose first
language is Spanish.
And all our services are accessible in any language
and to every victim whether they are undocumented or a U.S. citizen.
The Dane County District Attorney's Office plays an important
role in review and certification of you, non-immigrant status
visas or U visa applications.
In 2021, we created a certification review policy that has
since been shared with our partners across the state of Wisconsin.
Every crime victim in Dane County receives information on this
valuable public service resource, which for cooperative and
qualifying applicants can set them on a path toward lawful permanent residence.
When victims are engaged, law enforcement and district
attorneys are better able to investigate prosecute cases involving
domestic violence, child abuse, violent assaults and other crimes.
The District Attorney's Office is separate from the federal government.
We are not immigration enforcement.
A collateral consequence of mass deportations is the creation of a pathway
for violent offenders who are facing serious criminal charges to evade accountability.
When undocumented offenders are removed from Dane County before they
get a chance to exercise their right to a fair trial,
their victims are deprived of justice and our larger communities
are placed at an even greater risk.
We will continue to do our jobs and deliver the same high quality services
to all visitors and residents of Dane County.
We remain steadfast in our belief that a lack of status does not equate
to a lack of justice.
Thank you.
So we're able to take questions if you have any at this point.
Do you have a exam?
I wanted to ask you.
You mentioned there were these concerns about fear of deportation and
inhibiting crime recording.
What are you doing to reassure people who are concerned about that?
And would you possibly report that to the government if they are to leave it here?
Okay, the last part.
I'm not certain on what?
Yeah, I can review.
I'm just trying to understand, would it be a risk for them if they did
report a crime and they were here in the country and we believe it to report that?
It should not be a risk to them.
We do not check status.
We give our services to every victim that comes into the criminal justice system.
But the pressure on individuals to,
whether it's a fear that they may be deported or that a loved one may be deported,
is real and does pressure victims in their initial engagement with the criminal justice system
or their continued engagement with our office, which does not allow us to continue to
function at our best and actually hold offenders accountable.
Apart from this law enforcement component, if the county has any plans for emergency funding for like
immigration affairs or some of these other groups like Central and Silk that handle legal services for immigrants?
So it is not in the county's purview to provide legal services for residents of Dane County.
So we will continue to provide reparone services and support members of our community that are disrupted by
actions that may be taken by the federal administration.
But again, we currently do not provide legal services that is not in the purview or something.
Is that going to take the place, like with services and immigration affairs, like any action about the border or anything like that in the next few weeks?
Are you asking if we're going to change our mission?
We will continue to support our local partners in the way that we have.
But we are not and have not supported through legal action.
There are amazing partners across our country, including here in Dane County, that do provide legal services, but that is not under the umbrella of the county.
Melissa, I think it was just before Christmas when America legal for America First Legal sent you and a number of other officials across the country a letter saying like you are not informing ice of residency status, you are aiding and abetting.
I don't know if you saw that letter and what your response is to that.
Are they trying to threaten you and other sanctuary jurisdictions?
Well, I question the word of sanctuary there.
We have reviewed that letter. I am aware of that letter.
It did get sent to me.
It is in the county's court council hands.
There are a number of items in that letter that we disagree with and we will continue to navigate it.
It wasn't officially from the federal government, but it does appear that it came from many of Trump's biggest partners.
What do you disagree with?
I don't have the letter in front of me. I wasn't prepared to talk about that. Happy to loop back with you.
Do you have any concerns that there will be feedback or repercussions from the federal government to carry, you know, cooperate and some of the things that they're talking about, whether it's trying to show funding from the federal government for the county or I guess that would be the biggest.
Certainly restriction of resources so that we can provide what it is that is mandated for us to deliver to members of our community.
By both the federal and the state government is concerning to us and that is one of the reasons why we are here.
We are resilient and it is really hard to speculate what it is that these folks are going to do before they do it.
As I mentioned, it is very clear that there is a plan of unpredictability and chaos through this process.
So we will continue to stay on it is on top of this as much as we can.
It's going to be all hands and all hands on deck to make sure that we're having each other's backs and taking care of people in the community as we always have.
There's other counties around the country and county boards that have passed legislation to make it harder for local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Does any action like that on the table?
I don't believe that is on the table right now.
It is not in our scope.
We are not in arm of the federal government.
It is not one of our duties and responsibilities to provide immigration enforcement within the county.
You can make it harder for the sheriff's office to cooperate with them.
The sheriff is not here so I think that's it.
I don't believe that chair Miles is here.
I don't believe that the county board is looking to dictate to a constitutional officer what they should or shouldn't do.
I think the sheriff has been very clear on his statements as to his department and how they interact with federal agencies.
We obviously do not have an ability to keep federal agencies out of our jurisdiction nor would we.
But I don't see any arm of government trying to tell another constitutional officer what they can and can't do.
At least here in Dane County.
The message has been pretty loud and clear that it is our job.
We see it as our job to protect the people that are here in Dane County.
And we are here delivering that message today.
Unifying.
You mentioned that you question the use of the term sanctuary.
Why do you question that?
Is that not a fair way to describe the situation in Dane County?
I don't believe that the county board has taken action to define Dane County as a sanctuary county when it comes to immigration.
In terms of practice though, isn't it sort of what conservatives say as a sanctuary jurisdiction?
You're speaking in the conservative frame.
I'm talking in the frame of what Dane County is.
And we have a history as I mentioned of protecting one another and delivering on our mission with the values of the people within our community.
And we're not planning on changing anything of what it is that we are doing.
We are here to highlight the work that we are already doing within the community.
Got time for two more.
Can you just walk me through the first stuff someone should take, whether they're a paper or self-worth?
Yes, absolutely.
So, Dane County Human Services does have toolkits for families and individuals in our community to have access to forms and resources to create emergency plans.
And again, I think every single family, every single person in our community should take the time to do that.
You never know when there is going to be a tornado flood, a fire that is going to come before you.
So that is the first thing.
Prepare yourselves and your family for disruption.
And hopefully that disruption does not come.
But if it does, make sure that you do have an emergency plan.
I do that with my kids.
If the house was to catch on fire, where do you go?
How do you get there?
What do you say?
And those are very important things.
I know that there are business owners in the community that are making plans within their businesses.
And I am grateful for that.
I know that there are municipal governments that are making plans there.
But again, if you are afraid, if you are hearing something, do not hesitate to reach out to the county.
9-1-1 is there for everyone.
That is a resource.
And we will take it from there.
We will verify and provide the best community services that we can to members of our community.
No, folks are not alone.
Yep, you're good.
That's the last one.
Turning to that, if the immigration status regardless of their status, if they do commit a crime in Dane County,
will they be prosecuted or is there legal stipulations that you are not able to prosecute in that circumstance?
So we do not look at someone's documentation as to whether or not we can prosecute or whether or not we give victim services.
We look at whether or not there is probable cause and we believe we can prove whatever charge we think is availed to us beyond a reasonable doubt.
That is sort of a collateral issue that may come to bear after a prosecution.
But the reality here is this, our system, our rule of law is there for a reason.
It's to ensure that we don't hopefully have innocent people caught up in the system.
It's to ensure that crime victims have a voice.
It's to ensure that we can hold people accountable if they violate the law.
After that, there may be consequences as to deportation, but that's after we've addressed these issues in the criminal justice system.
Do you expect this new administration to create de facto a larger case load for your colleagues in the office?
Our case loads will depend on whether people are violating the law and the investigations by our law enforcement within Dane County.
I can tell you this, we have had to navigate when someone is potentially looking to be deported prior to being held accountable in our system.
And that is a serious problem because it could be in a sense a get out of jail free car.
I do not know of any country that would immediately incarcerate somebody or punish somebody for a violation of the law here in Dane County.
And that's what we would be looking to address.
The problem with that is that there is no guarantee that that person will not victimize a new victim or return to our community and re-victimize the victims here.
And so that's why we need to be allowed to do our job prior to any determination as to whether or not someone should remain in our country.
I just wanted to give one quick response and follow me up on Lucas's question.
There's no plans on anyone from the county board to my knowledge of adopting, promoting any resolution, directing anything of the sheriff's office.
There is a separation of powers.
We cannot mandate what the sheriff does outside of setting things in ordinances or establishing funding.
But I want to underscore that from the county board's perspective, historically we have been, you know, our primary concern has been making sure that county services are delivered in a humane
and dignified manner.
And we want to make sure that folks can trust that when they call 911 or the DA's office for the victim services, that their call will be answered.
And they're not at risk of any other consequence of separation or what have you.
Thank you.
Patrick Miles, Chair of the Dink High Court.
Thank you.
My whole spelling of Patrick.
Miles and my L.E.S.
Thank you.
My L.E.S. are released over here, what he's in now.