Liberal judge recruits sanctuary sheriffs who defied ICE for ad touting crime record in pivotal race

In an ad promoting herself as a tough on crime judge, and her opponent as “too extreme,” the Democrat-aligned candidate in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race touted the endorsement of a local sheriff who has a long history of promoting sanctuary immigration policies and opposing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

“Take it from a sheriff,” Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said in a recent 15-second ad, paid for by candidate Susan Crawford, criticizing the Republican-aligned candidate Brad Schimel of being too “extreme” for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and for “letting rapists walk free” in a claim involving a backlog of rape kits being processed that Schimel has pushed back on. 

Barrett has faced his own share of criticism for policies labeled soft on crime, specifically on illegal immigrant crime, where his office has a history of refusing to cooperate with ICE.

Earlier this year, Barrett withdrew Wisconsin from the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program that ICE uses to locate criminal illegal immigrants in jail, which earned him praise from the ACLU. 

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“At this point, we will no longer be taking part in the SCAAP grant program, and it is due to the recent change in administration and our understanding, listening, and hearing our community here in Dane County,” Barrett told Channel 3000 at the time. 

Barrett has also pledged that his department will “not be proactively involved in any sort of round-ups, any sort of immigration enforcement.”

ICE listed Dane County as a jurisdiction that was “non-cooperative” in a June 2024 report, as Barrett’s office released individuals suspected of being illegal immigrants out on bail after committing crimes that were in some cases violent. 

In 2024, two Republican congressmen in Wisconsin released a statement demanding answers from Barrett on Alejandro Jose Coronel Zarate, a suspected member of the Venezuelan street gang Tren de Aragua, having a warrant for his arrest in Dane County when he was then arrested for allegedly sexually and physically assaulting a woman and her child.

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“Sanctuary policies undermine both the rule of law and the safety of American communities,” Matt O’Brien, director of investigations at the Immigration Reform Law Institute, told Fox News Digital. “To begin with, states, counties, and municipalities cannot simply ignore any federal laws they dislike. But that’s exactly what sanctuary jurisdictions are doing.”

“Secondly, law enforcement officials who are tough on crime and serious about protecting their communities seize every available opportunity to neutralize threats to public safety. Police chiefs and sheriffs in sanctuary jurisdictions actually do the exact opposite. They shield foreign criminals from federal immigration enforcement. And, in so doing, they encourage criminals to take up residence in the very communities they are responsible for protecting. Simply put, it is impossible to be a sanctuary police chief or sheriff and be tough on crime – because the very essence of being a sanctuary jurisdiction is giving preferential treatment to illegal alien bad guys.”

Another sheriff featured in the ad, former Dane County Sheriff David Mahoney, has also publicly pushed back against ICE raids. 

Schimel, who has been endorsed by over 80 Wisconsin sheriffs and previously served as the state’s attorney general, will face Crawford in an election on April 1 for a 10-year term on the state’s supreme court to replace retiring Judge Ann Walsh Bradley. 

Although the Supreme Court seats are considered nonpartisan, Crawford, currently a circuit court judge, has earned the endorsement of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, which received $1 million from George Soros in January before then sending $2 million to Crawford and various liberal activist groups. 

Schimel, currently a Waukesha County judge, has the backing of the Wisconsin GOP, several top Republican donors, including Chicago Cubs co-owner Joe Ricketts and Elon Musk’s Building America’s Future PAC. 

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The race is expected to have significant implications on the future of Wisconsin politics given that the court’s current 4-3 liberal majority would essentially be set in stone through 2028 or, if Schimel were to win, become a conservative-leaning court with Justice Brian Hagedorn serving as a key swing vote. 

“In November, Wisconsin voters chose common sense above a far-left agenda. Now, Dangerous Democrat Susan Crawford, wants to be a liberal activist from the bench of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Crawford and Democrats are already plotting to redraw Congressional seats to attack President Trump’s America First Agenda,” Wisconsin GOP Executive Director Andrew Iverson told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

“While Brad Schimel has a record of protecting Wisconsin’s most vulnerable, Crawford has a record of coddling criminals and has attached herself at the hip with anti-ICE and defund-police Democrats. On April 1, Wisconsin voters will flock to the ballot box to vote for Schimel — to save Wisconsin and save America.”

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In a statement to Fox News Digital, Schimel campaign spokesperson Jacob Fischer said, “Susan Crawford is backed by George Soros, and she’s not trying to hide it.”

“If Crawford wins, she would continue to force-feed us her dangerous, Soros-backed agenda. We must stop her from destroying Wisconsin.” 

Fox News Digital reached out to both Barrett and Crawford for comment but did not receive a response.