MADISON, Wis. (Aug. 28, 2025) – The Wisconsin Legislative Socialist Caucus and its allies on Thursday rolled out a sweeping “Keep Families Together” legislative package aimed at thwarting what they described as authoritarian overreach by federal immigration agents.
The package, introduced by Representatives Ryan Clancy, Francesca Hong, Darrin Madison, and Christian Phelps, features multiple protections, including:
- Providing public funding for immigration defense work.
- Preventing government actors from operating while masked and unidentified.
- Prohibiting the use of any state, county, or city facilities to detain individuals based solely on immigration status.
- Banning agreements that allow local government resources to be used for immigration enforcement.
Representative Clint Moses (R–Menomonie) immediately denounced the package.
“The so‑called ‘Keep Families Together’ package would funnel taxpayer dollars into immigration defense, block state, county, and city facilities from detaining individuals based on immigration status, and tie the hands of local governments from working with federal immigration enforcement,” Moses said. “This is nothing more than a blueprint for turning Wisconsin into a sanctuary state at the expense of hardworking Wisconsinites. I will not stand for legislation that shifts costs onto our communities or puts Wisconsinites in danger.”
The caucus issued a collective statement.
“As socialists, we know our communities are safest when people’s real, urgent needs are met by fully funding public education, providing everyone with the healthcare they need, and making housing a human right. By ensuring that our neighbors are welcome, treated with dignity, and given the resources they need to thrive, we make Wisconsin stronger.”
They lambasted federal actions under the Trump administration: “President Trump is commanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (‘ICE’) to detain and deport people to fill his arbitrary quotas, almost always without a judge’s oversight, often while agents are masked and unidentified. This is textbook authoritarianism. Fascists always attack marginalized communities first, but they won’t stop there. Ultimately, attacks on our undocumented neighbors undermine everyone’s safety.”
They continued, “It’s our duty as legislators to act decisively and boldly in this new Trumpian crisis. We’re releasing this package of bills to clarify where we stand, as representatives of the people of Wisconsin: we demand that law enforcement and other government employees work for us, not ICE.”
Framing the issue as moral and communal, the Socialists added: “We refuse to see public resources go towards private detention centers, a polite way to say ‘for‑profit internment camps.’ We cannot allow masked, unidentified people to terrorize our communities – whether they work for the federal government, or are merely pretending to.”
