Evers tells ‘UpFront’ he’s not directing employees to break the law if federal immigration officials enter state buildings

Dem Gov. Tony Evers says his administration is not directing employees to break the law if federal immigration officials were to enter any state buildings.

“I just think if they come in, ICE comes in and wants to talk to somebody, I think an attorney should be there,” Evers said on WISN 12’s “UpFront,” which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics. “I don’t think we are going to stop ICE from doing whatever they’re going to do, absolutely not. But …I think it’s important they have access to an attorney just for that exchange between ICE and one of our employees.”

The guidance recently issued by the Department of Administration directs state employees not to answer questions or provide documents to ICE agents without calling an attorney. Republicans are accusing the governor of instructing state employees to break federal law.

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“Yeah, that’s crap,” Evers said. “That’s what they would say no matter what. We’re not encouraging them to break the law. In fact, one of the things that ICE is arresting people for, we’re seeing all that, frankly, is not law-breaking. And then what do you do? So I think having caution right up front, I think, is important.

“Think about the farmers in the state of Wisconsin; they have all sorts of undocumented people,” Evers added. “And you know if Donald Trump starts going after them, we will become a shadow of the state we are right now. We’re not taking any rights away from ICE. They run the show. We just want to make sure there’s an attorney there, see the documents, what’s going on, can we do this someplace else rather than our place of work, and make it more reasonable?”

Evers also discussed negotiations with Republican leaders about a potential tax cut agreement.

“Yeah, it’s a real thing,” Evers said about the discussions. “But it also lets you know that it’s just the first thing.”

Evers continues to say he wants any agreement to be part of the overall state budget. Republicans have said they prefer a standalone tax cut bill ahead of the budget.

“Unless it’s written the right way, I think you can’t do a budget without having those two things together, the expenditures and the revenue,” Evers said. “If there’s some way to do that, if they can convince me, I’m open to it.”

Evers again said he will make a decision on reelection after the state budget process and wouldn’t reveal whether he has personally made up his mind.

“I won’t even answer that,” Evers said. “It will happen after the budget, simple as that. I do think, I can’t pretend that I’m not trying to figure it out because I am. I love what I’m doing, but I will continue to think about this for the next several weeks, and then after the budget, everybody’s going to know.”

Dan Adams, a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor in Milwaukee County, says the Friday arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan was a “bombshell.”

“For a sitting circuit court judge to be arrested with handcuffs by the FBI, it’s totally unprecedented,” Adams told “UpFront.” “They have applied for a complaint, which is not usual on the federal side. Usually, we hear about a grand jury indictment, which is evidence provided to a secret panel of citizens who come back and say ‘Yes, there’s probable cause.’ They took a different route, which was to swear out essentially an affidavit saying there was probable cause on two different crimes, and a magistrate, a sworn magistrate in federal courts, reviewed it and found probable cause, so certainly they have a basis to bring these charges against Judge Dugan.”

Republican leaders, including Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, have said they will pursue impeachment if Dugan is convicted.

“She also has this added layer of the scrutiny and attention nationally,” Adams said. “The DOJ in Washington is going to be working on this. This isn’t just going to be our local prosecutors. They have the full brunt of the U.S. government coming down, so she’s got to deal with that first. I’m sure that’s what’s going to keep her awake at night. But then she also has the potential of the judicial commission, which is the governing body of judges coming into play, whether or not she was having ex parte communications with one part and not the prosecutor, that’s mentioned in the complaint, whether her overall conduct offended the judicial code.”

Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich says he’s confident lawmakers and Evers will approve more state funding to reimburse municipalities for public safety costs associated with the NFL draft.

“I feel good about it,” Genrich told “UpFront.” “Really grateful to the governor for his inclusion of that funding in the state budget. A bipartisan group of legislators are also supportive of including that once the Legislature gets its hand on the budget. And so I’m hoping there continues to be agreement. This is a wonderful event, as we just talked about in terms of the economic impact that it’s going to have for our region and for the state of Wisconsin, but it doesn’t come without a cost, right? Public safety folks who have been here for a long time will continue to be there throughout, a lot of folks working 16, 17 hours a day. And so we’ve just got to make sure we pay them, and we’re committed to doing that.”

The Packers and local officials have projected a more than $90 million statewide economic impact, some $20 million in the Green Bay area alone.

“Checking in on attendance to see where that lands on those economic impact numbers, both within the region and statewide,” Genrich said. “But as long as people came here, had a great time, stayed safe, that’s the most important thing, and certainly on track in that regard…”

See more from the show.