Undocumented immigrant at center of police immigration policy is released

Jesse Garza
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Christine Neumann-Ortiz, left, executive director of Voces de la Frontera, speaks with supporters as Jose De la Cruz, his wife, Kristine De la Cruz, and daughter, Tatiana De la Cruz, 11, hold hands behind her. Jose De la Cruz, an undocumented immigrant whose arrest sparked accusations of Milwaukee police collaboration with ICE agents, was released Wednesday.

An undocumented immigrant whose arrest sparked accusations of Milwaukee police collaboration with federal immigration agents was released on $4,000 bail Wednesday.

An immigration hearing will be scheduled for 38-year-old Jose De la Cruz, who will then apply for permanent resident status, his attorney Marc Christopher said. 

De la Cruz had no valid immigration status at the time of his arrest Sept. 23, according to Christopher.

He has been in the U.S. 20 years and was consulting with an attorney on how to apply for legal residency at the time of his arrest, Christopher said.

De la Cruz was in a parked car in front of his south side home with his family when he was approached by immigration agents.

When the family refused to open the doors, demanding to see a judicial warrant, the agents flagged down Milwaukee police officers, who assisted in his arrest.

While officers were there they requested a warrant for a probation violation from the state Department of Corrections but have never explained the violation. De La Cruz was convicted in February on a 2017 misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed weapon after pleading no contest. 

At the time of the 2017 arrest, De la Cruz was driving a family vehicle when police pulled him over for an equipment violation and found a handgun in the console, Christopher said Wednesday.

The weapon belonged to De la Cruz's wife, a concealed carry permit holder, and he did not know it was there, Christopher said.

"If the judge had made a determination (De la Cruz) was dangerous or likely to re-offend he would not have been given bond," Christopher said.

Christopher said it's common practice for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to comb through court records for convictions and believes that's how his client came to the agency's attention.

De la Cruz and his family appeared at a news conference Wednesday by immigrants rights group Voces de La Frontera, where Voces Executive Director Christine Neumann-Ortiz said his case shows why Milwaukee police need to revise their standard operating procedure covering immigration enforcement.

The De la Cruz family "became a public voice for why we need a Milwaukee Police Department policy of non-collaboration with ICE," Neumann-Ortiz said.

Voces wants police to adopt a policy in which a judicial warrant would be required for officers to assist in ICE operations.

The Fire and Police Commission's Policies and Standards Committee is scheduled to take up the matter Thursday.

In September, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett asked the commission to review the circumstances surrounding De la Cruz's arrest, but it has yet to take action on the request.