All about SCAAP
A federal program asks Wisconsin sheriffs to sell data to ICE
A weekly newsletter focused on immigration-related news for the Badger State.
June 16, 2026
Many Wisconsin Sheriffs will sell data to ICE this month
The State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) is a federal grant program that partially reimburses state and local governments for the costs of incarcerating certain non-citizens who have been convicted of crimes. To receive this money, county jails submit data on individuals they have incarcerated who are, or are believed to be, undocumented. This information is then shared with ICE, further strengthening its data-driven deportation machine.
From federal Fiscal Year 2021 through Fiscal Year 2024, 29 Wisconsin counties and the Wisconsin Department of Corrections received substantial SCAAP funding. The total amount of SCAAP funds received by these Wisconsin entities from October 2020 through September 2024 (encompassing FY 2021-2024 data) reached approximately $7,258,616. There is a table on page 3 of the ACLU of Wisconsin’s July 2025 Jail to Deportation Pipeline report which details the amounts received county-by-county.
This continued influx of federal funds is a financial enticement for local law enforcement to collaborate in immigration enforcement. The sharing of records of incarcerated individuals with ICE through the SCAAP application process creates a direct link in the jail-to-deportation pipeline, allowing ICE to identify and track individuals for potential removal proceedings.
Participation in the program by local sheriffs is entirely voluntary. Sheriffs from Milwaukee County, for instance, have not participated. After being one of the largest recipients of SCAAP funding in the past, the Dane County Sheriff decided in January 2025 to no longer participate in the program after a sustained campaign by concerned community members. Other sheriffs should follow their lead.
This month sheriffs across the state are preparing information to get a new round of SCAAP funding. The US DOJ has published the grant application materials here with a deadline to submit information about undocumented persons who had a stay in local jails of June 30.
Thus there is a short window over the next two weeks for citizens across the State of Wisconsin to contact their local Sheriffs to ask them to refrain from participating in the SCAAP program this year. Those dollars dangled in front of them should be refused rather than turn over data to fuel the deportation machine.
Other news
Supporters rally outside Indiana detention center as Milwaukee’s Salah Sarsour remains held by ICE (Milwaukee Independent)
Archdiocese of Milwaukee offers prayer service for migrants and refugees (CBS58)
Work visa delays are crippling Door County businesses well into summer (UpNorth News)
He took his wife, a Trump fan, to the president’s hotel in Doral. Instead he was detained by ICE (NBC News)
The 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup: Know Your Rights, Know Your Risks (ACLU)
Featured Resource
The National Immigration Project has created a resource to help people understand the new immigration court practice of “Mega-Master Hearings,” where dozens of individual cases appear on a court’s docket at the same time, and immigrants facing removal proceedings are being summoned to show up a rescheduled dates on very short notice. The resource titled Mega Master Hearings: Fast Cases and Bad Outcomes is an important introduction about the pitfalls and traps created by this new process.