Wisconsin AB24 - County Sheriff Federal Immigration Assistance Vetoed
Summary
Wisconsin Assembly Bill AB24 was vetoed by Governor Tony Evers on April 3, 2026. The bill would have created Wisconsin Statutes 59.28(3) and 79.039(1g), establishing a framework for county sheriffs to assist with certain federal immigration enforcement functions. Sponsored by 42 Republican legislators, the bill was subject to extensive Senate amendment activity before ultimately being vetoed, preserving the status quo for Wisconsin law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
What changed
Wisconsin AB24, a bill that would have created new statutory provisions under Wis. Stat. 59.28(3) and 79.039(1g), has been vetoed by Governor Tony Evers on April 3, 2026. The legislation was sponsored by 42 Republican legislators and passed both chambers before being vetoed. The Senate considered multiple amendments from Democratic senators (Carpenter, Drake, Hesselbein, Johnson, Keyeski, Larson, Ratcliff, Roys, Spreitzer, Wall, Wirch, and others) addressing various aspects of sheriff cooperation with federal immigration functions, as well as a Senate Substitute Amendment offered by the minority caucus, all of which were either withdrawn or rejected. The bill's fiscal estimate (FE) indicated significant anticipated implementation costs.
Wisconsin county sheriffs and law enforcement agencies should note that no new statutory obligations regarding federal immigration cooperation have been established. The veto preserves existing Wisconsin law and discretion on immigration assistance matters. Government affairs and law enforcement compliance teams in Wisconsin should continue to monitor for potential legislative reintroduction or similar proposals in future sessions, as the underlying policy debate remains active given the substantial legislative support AB24 received.
What to do next
- Continue current policies on sheriff cooperation with federal immigration authorities as AB24 did not become law
- Monitor Wisconsin legislative activity for reintroduction of similar immigration assistance bills in future sessions
Source document (simplified)
ChangeBridge / Wisconsin / AB24 Vetoed AB24 Assembly Bill Vetoed 2026-04-03
County sheriff assistance with certain federal immigration functions. (FE)
An Act to create 59.28 (3) and 79.039 (1g) of the statutes; Relating to: county sheriff assistance with certain federal immigration functions. (FE)
Bill Details
State Wisconsin
Session 2025-2026 Regular Session
Chamber House
Official Source docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2025/proposals/re...
LegiScan View on LegiScan
Sponsors
Robin Vos (Rep - R) Jim Piwowarczyk (Rep - R) Scott Allen (Rep - R) David Armstrong (Rep - R) Tyler August (Rep - R) Elijah Behnke (Rep - R) Lindee Brill (Rep - R) Calvin Callahan (Rep - R) Alex Dallman (Rep - R) Barbara Dittrich (Rep - R) Bob Donovan (Rep - R) Cindi Duchow (Rep - R) Joy Goeben (Rep - R) Chanz Green (Rep - R) Rick Gundrum (Rep - R) Karen Hurd (Rep - R) Brent Jacobson (Rep - R) Dan Knodl (Rep - R) Rob Kreibich (Rep - R) Scott Krug (Rep - R) Dave Maxey (Rep - R) David Murphy (Rep - R) Jeffrey Mursau (Rep - R) Amanda Nedweski (Rep - R) Jerry O'Connor (Rep - R) William Penterman (Rep - R) Kevin Petersen (Rep - R) Shae Sortwell (Rep - R) John Spiros (Rep - R) David Steffen (Rep - R) Rob Swearingen (Rep - R) Paul Tittl (Rep - R) Duke Tucker (Rep - R) Ron Tusler (Rep - R) Chuck Wichgers (Rep - R) Shannon Zimmerman (Rep - R) Julian Bradley (Sen - R) Andre Jacque (Sen - R) Chris Kapenga (Sen - R) Steve Nass (Sen - R) Romaine Quinn (Sen - R) Patrick Testin (Sen - R) Cory Tomczyk (Sen - R) Van Wanggaard (Sen - R)
Action History
2026-04-03 A Report vetoed by the Governor on 4-3-2026 2026-04-02 A Presented to the Governor on 4-2-2026 2026-03-26 A Report correctly enrolled on 3-26-2026 2026-03-26 A LRB correction 2026-03-18 A Received from Senate concurred in 2026-03-17 S Ordered immediately messaged 2026-03-17 S Read a third time and concurred in 2026-03-17 S Rules suspended to give bill its third reading 2026-03-17 S Ordered to a third reading 2026-03-17 S Senate Amendment 5 withdrawn and returned to author 2026-03-17 S Senate Amendment 4 withdrawn and returned to author 2026-03-17 S Senate Amendment 3 withdrawn and returned to author 2026-03-17 S Senate Amendment 2 withdrawn and returned to author 2026-03-17 S Senate Amendment 1 withdrawn and returned to author 2026-03-17 S Senate Substitute Amendment 1 rejected, Ayes 19, Noes 14 2026-03-17 S Read a second time 2026-03-17 S Senate Amendment 5 offered by Senators Carpenter, Dassler-Alfheim, Drake, Habush Sinykin, Hesselbein, L. Johnson, Keyeski, Larson, Ratcliff, Roys, Spreitzer, Wall and Wirch 2026-03-17 S Senate Amendment 4 offered by Senators Carpenter, Dassler-Alfheim, Drake, Hesselbein, L. Johnson, Keyeski, Larson, Ratcliff, Roys and Spreitzer 2026-03-17 S Senate Amendment 3 offered by Senators Carpenter, Dassler-Alfheim, Drake, Habush Sinykin, Hesselbein, L. Johnson, Keyeski, Larson, Ratcliff, Roys, Spreitzer, Wall and Wirch 2026-03-17 S Senate Amendment 2 offered by Senators Carpenter, Dassler-Alfheim, Drake, Habush Sinykin, Hesselbein, L. Johnson, Keyeski, Larson, Pfaff, Ratcliff, Roys, Smith, Spreitzer, Wall and Wirch 2026-03-17 S Senate Substitute Amendment 1 offered by Senators Wall, Dassler-Alfheim, Habush Sinykin, Hesselbein, Keyeski, Pfaff, Ratcliff, Roys, Smith and Wirch 2026-03-17 S Senate Amendment 1 offered by Senators L. Johnson, Carpenter, Dassler-Alfheim, Drake, Habush Sinykin, Hesselbein, Keyeski, Larson, Pfaff, Ratcliff, Roys, Smith, Spreitzer, Wall and Wirch 2026-03-16 S Placed on calendar 3-17-2026 pursuant to Senate Rule 18(1) 2025-06-12 S Available for scheduling 2025-06-12 S Report concurrence recommended by Committee on Licensing, Regulatory Reform, State and Federal Affairs, Ayes 3, Noes 2 2025-06-12 S Executive action taken 2025-05-13 S Public hearing held 2025-03-19 S Read first time and referred to committee on Licensing, Regulatory Reform, State and Federal Affairs 2025-03-18 S Received from Assembly 2025-03-18 A Ordered immediately messaged 2025-03-18 A Read a third time and passed, Ayes 51, Noes 43, Paired 2 2025-03-18 A Rules suspended 2025-03-18 A Ordered to a third reading 2025-03-18 A Assembly Amendment 1 adopted 2025-03-18 A Read a second time 2025-03-14 A Fiscal estimate received 2025-03-13 A Placed on calendar 3-18-2025 by Committee on Rules 2025-03-11 A Referred to committee on Rules 2025-03-11 A Report passage as amended recommended by Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety, Ayes 10, Noes 5 2025-03-11 A Report Assembly Amendment 1 adoption recommended by Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety, Ayes 14, Noes 1 2025-03-11 A Executive action taken 2025-03-10 A Assembly Amendment 2 offered by Representative Spaude 2025-03-07 A Assembly Amendment 1 offered by Representatives Vos and Piwowarczyk 2025-03-06 A Fiscal estimate received 2025-02-26 A Public hearing held 2025-02-18 A Representative Gustafson added as a coauthor 2025-02-12 A Read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety 2025-02-12 A Introduced
Votes
2025-03-18 Assembly: Read a third time and passed Yea: 51 Nay: 43 2026-03-17 Senate: Senate Substitute Amendment 1 rejected Yea: 19 Nay: 14
Committee Referrals
2025-02-12 A Criminal Justice and Public Safety 2025-03-11 A Rules 2025-03-19 S Licensing, Regulatory Reform, State and Federal Affairs
Amendments
2025-03-07 Assembly Amendment 1 2025-03-10 Assembly Amendment 2 2026-03-17 Senate Amendment 1 2026-03-17 Senate Substitute Amendment 1 2026-03-17 Senate Amendment 2 2026-03-17 Senate Amendment 3 2026-03-17 Senate Amendment 4 2026-03-17 Senate Amendment 5
Bill Text Versions
2025-02-12 Introduced 0000-00-00 Enrolled Legislative data powered by LegiScan (CC BY 4.0)
Named provisions
Related changes
Source
Classification
Who this affects
Taxonomy
Browse Categories
Get Government General alerts
Weekly digest. AI-summarized, no noise.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
Get alerts for this source
We'll email you when Wisconsin Legislative Events publishes new changes.