Governor defies Trump's immigration authorities

A US governor instructs employees on how to behave toward immigration officials. Republicans call it obstruction.

Criticism is growing against the nationwide arrests of suspected illegal immigrants in the United States . The arrest of a judge who allegedly helped individuals escape from ICE officials garnered worldwide attention. Judge Hannah Dugan is accused of deliberately diverting immigration officials away from a migrant, enabling him to escape.

The Democratic governor of Wisconsin has previously issued an order to employees that reads like a call for passive resistance during visits by ICE officers.

Tony Evers' instructions state that they should first remain calm and inform their superiors. Then, the employees should question the agent, asking them to identify him and show him his official ID.

It is important to verify the agent's identity and authority with the information on their ID card. They should also inquire about the agent's reason for being at the workplace and request access to the documents justifying this visit. A copy of any search warrant should be provided. Interviews with officers should be conducted in a public area of ​​the agency.

Employees are expressly prohibited from answering questions from ICE officers, especially about third parties, unless there is a court order. They are also prohibited from granting immigration officials access to data and records without first consulting the agency's legal department, even if there is a search warrant. ICE officers are only permitted to be in the public areas of an agency.

Evers isn't the only one with such instructions. The recommendations are similar to the guidelines issued by the Democratic governor of Connecticut in January.

Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who represents northern Wisconsin and is considering a run for governor in 2026, said the memo amounts to "ordering state employees to prevent ICE from doing its job." "Wisconsin deserves better," Tiffany wrote on X. He copied Attorney General Pam Bondi in his message.

Critics accuse the immigration authorities of repeatedly arresting people without a warrant. In the most prominent example, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials did not have a warrant for the arrest of Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil when they took him into custody, according to a filing in the case, according to ABC News.

The mayor of Newark also recently complained that three restaurant employees were taken away by ICE agents without a warrant. A similar incident occurred in Albemarle, North Carolina. Plainclothes ICE agents reportedly arrested two people. "None of us saw any ID or badge, and no one said they had a warrant, showed a warrant, or identified themselves as a law enforcement officer. And one, as seen on the video, is clearly concealing his identity," said Nicholas Reppucci, an attorney for one of those arrested.

Governor Tony Evers also criticized the arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan on Platform X. "Unfortunately, over the past several months, we have seen the President and the Trump administration repeatedly use dangerous rhetoric to attack and undermine our judiciary at every level—including outright disobeying the highest court in the land and threatening to impeach and remove judges who do not rule in their favor," he wrote on Platform X.

Donald Trump again criticized the courts on Sunday night. "We need a courageous judiciary in our country. If the courts don't allow what we've been allowed to do for 250 years, America can never be the same," he wrote on his Truth Social portal.