MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee alderman says he regrets saying a major ICE operation coming to the city. This comes after some in the immigrant community says it created unnecessary fear.
Alderman Alex Brower sent a news release Monday night to inform his district about a door-to-door canvassing event this weekend focused on how to respond if ICE shows up. The release stated the event was to "help District 3 prepare for a major ICE operation in Milwaukee."
However, Brower admits he has indications but no confirmation of any large-scale ICE operation coming to Milwaukee.
Watch: Alderman 'regrets' telling city to prepare for ICE surge despite no confirmation
"Because the president has promised that they will quote, 'rid this country of illegal immigrants,'" Brower said when asked why he made the claim without knowing it was true.
Just about every week, rumors swirl about an alleged ICE surge coming to Milwaukee, and each time so far, they've proven not to be true.
TMJ4 spoke with immigrants off camera who believe the alderman's statement creates more harm than good in the community.
"Well, it's not my intention whatsoever to create fear or harm in those communities. Our intention is to have the neighbors on the east side and Riverwest be ready to do whatever they can," Brower said.
According to Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit news agency, ICE agents based out of Milwaukee arrested about 75 immigrants between January and July of last year. Voces de la Frontera says they've seen an increase in ICE arrests in recent months but no surge.
When asked if he regrets how he phrased his warning, Brower said he would never want to cause anyone to feel afraid.
"I would never want to cause anyone to feel afraid and so if that is the case, I do regret that," Brower said.
ICE has not responded to requests for comment about its plans for enforcement operations in Milwaukee.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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