OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Winnebago County Sheriff John Matz addressed its cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enforcement during a regularly scheduled judiciary and public safety committee meeting on Monday night.
The county has an agreement with ICE to cooperate specifically for the county jail, so local law enforcement isn’t participating in arrests or the like. Instead, the county is cooperating with ICE for jail inmates.
“I understand their concerns when it comes to what they’re seeing happening in Minneapolis and other cities. Absolutely understand that,” said Winnebago County Sheriff John Matz, referring to those who spoke out against the county’s cooperation with ICE. “It’s not happening here. For us to notify ICE about any individual, they have to be in our jail on a criminal charge. There is no other contact with ICE.”
Most Northeast Wisconsin counties have the same agreement, including Brown, Calumet, Fond du Lac, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Outagamie, Sheboygan and Waushara. Matz said the county is operating the same way it has for 25 years.
ICE detained 17 people in the Winnebago County Jail in 2025 and three in January 2026, according to Matz’s presentation. These are all people who are here illegally and have been arrested and booked in jail.
“I think our law enforcement has always worked with immigration officials through several different administrations to facilitate that process,” said Winnebago County Executive Gordon Hintz. “I think when you start eroding the public trust (referring to ICE) and it expands into a lot of the things that we’ve seen where there’s unaccountable law enforcement agents, it raises questions.”
The sheriff’s office has full control over law enforcement, including any involvement with ICE. Hintz and Matz said they are not aware of any ICE presence in Winnebago County. Matz said he doesn’t believe the agency would come here, though Hintz said he has some concern.
Though each holds a non-partisan position, Matz has previously ran for office as a Republican and Hintz as a Democrat.
Over a dozen people spoke out against any county dealing with ICE at Monday’s meeting, calling for the county to end any agreement.
The county receives about $20,000 per year in reimbursements from ICE, depending on how many people are detained there. Matz said he has no interest in holding anyone here who is not arrested in the county.
When we asked him how he might approaching things in Winnebago County if ICE came here, he declined to provide specifics, but added that he doesn’t believe ICE will target the county. He said he’s solely focused on what’s happening in the county.
“I understand what appears to be happening in other cities is very concerning,” said Matz. “It’s not happening here. That’s all I can control.”
“If you have been convicted of a crime and you’re here illegally, you should be deported,” said Hintz. “I hope that some of the mistakes made, or the errors or the behavior in Minnesota, reins in these federal agents, and we get back to a more normal policy where not just non-citizens, not just refugees, but citizens, people of color don’t have to live in fear.”
Matz said he plans to give updates monthly at the meetings, which are open to the public and typically held on the first Monday of every month at 6 p.m.
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