Republicans in Wisconsin have typically repeated the phrase “each state is a border state.” For proof, they’ve lately turned to Prairie du Chien, a metropolis of about 5,500 folks throughout the Mississippi River from Iowa.
U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden and U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde — each Republicans operating for Congress in Wisconsin — have appeared on Fox Information in latest weeks to argue immigration is a Wisconsin difficulty.
They each cited a case wherein Prairie du Chien police stated a person affiliated with a transnational gang attacked a lady and her daughter.
“We simply had a Venezuelan unlawful immigrant violently assault and rape a lady in a small city in Wisconsin, and assault her daughter,” Hovde stated in an Sept. 12 Fox Information interview.
Van Orden, who lives in Prairie du Chien, additionally mentioned the case on Fox Information three days later.
“(He) made his technique to Minneapolis the place he was arrested for property crime, then made his means all the way down to Madison, Wisconsin, the place he was arrested for a collection of violent crimes,” Van orden stated. “He was launched from each of those locations as a result of they’re sanctuary cities.”
Former President Donald Trump additionally talked about the Prairie du Chien case at his rally in Mosinee, claiming the suspect was charged with “suffocation, youngster abuse, sexual assault and plenty of different issues.”
Trump and his operating mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, have unfold false claims about migrants consuming pets in Springfield, Ohio. Colleges and hospitals within the metropolis have been evacuated or locked down as a consequence of threats.
PolitiFact Wisconsin needed to look into the Prairie du Chien case partly as a result of the Springfield claims attracted a lot consideration and have been decided false.
Fairly than fact-checking only one politician or one assertion, we determined to put out what’s correct, based mostly on what we all know to this point, and what’s not.
Right here’s what Prairie du Chien police say occurred
In a Fb publish Sept. 6 and in an replace Sept. 9, the Prairie du Chien Police Division laid out particulars of what they name an “open and ongoing investigation.”
Police say they responded to a bodily disturbanc Sept. 5, the place they discovered a “male suspect had been bodily and sexually violent in direction of an grownup feminine.”
A feminine juvenile was additionally “discovered to have been injured in the course of the bodily altercation that befell,” police stated. No particulars in regards to the victims, together with their ages, have been launched.
Prairie du Chien police stated the suspect is Alejandro Jose Coronel Zarate, who will not be a U.S. citizen.
Within the preliminary publish, police stated Coronel Zarate was “suspected of getting an affiliation with a recognized violent transnational felony group referred to as ‘Tren de Aragua.’”
Within the replace, police stated “we’re extra assured now” about his affiliation with the gang, based mostly on interviews, the suspect’s “prominently displayed tattoos” and after consulting with federal legislation enforcement.
Police stated the incident was “not a random occasion,” as one of many victims introduced the suspect to Prairie du Chien from Madison, Wisconsin, and “have been acquaintances.”
The division’s assertion, signed by police Chief Kyle Teynor, stated the sufferer had “no expectations or data of his violent tendencies” and “holds no accountability for the brutal assaults.”
Within the replace, Teynor stated “Coronel Zarate is the one suspect on this case and the one particular person we’ve had contact with that has proven connections to the Tren de Aragua transnational gang.”
Coronel Zarate has been charged with three felonies: second diploma sexual assault, youngster abuse, and strangulation and suffocation, plus three misdemeanor counts of battery and disorderly conduct with home abuse modifiers.
He was booked into Crawford County Jail, Teynor stated, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was contacted and a detainer was positioned on him.
Suspect was by no means in custody in Dane County, sheriff pushes again
Police additionally stated Coronel Zarate was charged and had warrants in Dane County, the place Madison is positioned, and was arrested in Minnesota in 2023.
A search of the Wisconsin’s courts web site reveals he was charged with strangulation and suffocation, false imprisonment, battery and disorderly conduct. A warrant for his arrest was issued Dec. 1, 2023.
The Dane County Sheriff’s Workplace informed PolitiFact Wisconsin that Coronel Zarate was by no means of their custody, and the Madison Police Division equally stated he was by no means in jail in Dane County for that case.
That contradicts a part of Van Orden’s declare that he was “arrested” after which “launched” in Madison, as a result of he was by no means in custody there.
Additionally, Madison doesn’t have an official “sanctuary metropolis” coverage, stated Dylan Brogan, town’s public data officer.
He pointed to the Madison Police Division’s commonplace working process on immigration legal guidelines, which explains how the division cooperates with Immigration and Custons Enforcement underneath sure circumstances, equivalent to if a suspect is arrested for a violent felony.
Up to now, PolitiFact Wisconsin defined that Madison and Milwaukee County don’t contemplate themselves sanctuary cities, which is a political time period reasonably than a authorized one. However they do have practices that match the that means.
On the county aspect, Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett pushed again on a letter from Van Orden and U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., printed on the conservative information web site Wisconsin Proper Now.
Within the letter, the congressmen requested Barrett whether or not the county has a coverage that restricts coordination with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and whether or not Coronel Zarate was ever in custody.
Barrett responded on his marketing campaign Fb web page, reasonably than an official web page. He confirmed Coronel Zarate was by no means in his custody and stated claims the division is “noncooperative” with Immigration and Customs Enforcement are false.
Barrett additionally painted the letter as “an unsubstantiated and distasteful try to collect votes in a battleground state for the upcoming presidential election.”
“And to avoid wasting any comply with up inquiries, we’ve not taken experiences of individuals consuming cats or canines,” Barrett added, referring to the false claims in Springfield, Ohio.
A spokesperson for Van Orden despatched PolitiFact Wisconsin his personal response: “Barrett is making an attempt to distract from the truth that he issued warrants … and by no means executed them.”
What’s recognized about Tren de Aragua
In July, the U.S. Treasury Division designated Tren de Aragua as a big Transnational Felony Group, “(underscoring) the escalating risk it poses to American communities.”
The Treasury Division stated Tren de Aragua, which originated as a jail gang in Venezuela, is thought for crimes together with human smuggling, gender-based violence and drug trafficking.
A assertion from a Nationwide Safety Council spokesperson additionally stated the Division of Homeland Safety has “carried out enhanced vetting processes” earlier than folks arrive on the border and “enhanced screening measures” on the border to “establish recognized or suspected gang members.”
These recognized as gang members are detained and referred for felony prosecution or held pending elimination.
Legislation enforcement brokers are additionally working with native and state companions, the Nationwide Safety Council stated, to “examine and prosecute Tren de Aragua members and associates engaged in felony actions.”
Prairie du Chien police stated that based mostly on their investigation, they’ll affirm Coronel Zarate entered the U.S. in September 2023 “at or close to the El Paso, Texas port of entry.”
When he was arrested, Coronel Zarate had two fictitious immigration paperwork, together with a U.S. Social Safety card, police stated.
Immigrant advocates fear about fear-mongering
Prairie du Chien isn’t the primary small group in Wisconsin that Republicans have pointed to when making arguments about immigration.
Up to now, they’ve turned to Whitewater, a metropolis of about 15,700 that for the final two years has attracted some 1,000 migrants, primarily from Nicaragua, for jobs on farms and in factories.
Residents informed the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel earlier this yr that they have been disillusioned by “concern mongering” from politicians and seen no uptick in crime.
Metropolis leaders stated there have been obstacles, equivalent to drivers being pulled over with out licenses and unsafe dwelling circumstances, however stated they wish to remedy these issues if given extra funding.
Christine Neumann-Ortiz, the manager director of immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera, pointed to claims from Republicans about migrants in Whitewater.
Advocates have been involved legislation enforcement in Whitewater coordinated too carefully with Republican members of Congress, like holding public occasions collectively.
“That is all simply fear-mongering and xenophobia, and the group has simply responded superbly,” Neumann-Ortiz stated.
PolitiFact Wisconsin has additionally beforehand debunked claims from a county Republican occasion that “planes stuffed with unvetted ‘refugees’” are being accepted at airports in Milwaukee and Madison.
Our conclusion
Not like debunked claims about migrants consuming pets in Springfield, a brand new declare making the rounds a couple of Venezuelan gang member assaulting a mom and daughter in Wisconsin has components which can be correct.
Prairie du Chien police say they’re assured the suspect is affiliated with Tren de Aragua, including they’ve consulted with federal companions and contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
However the particulars of those instances are vital. There’s no proof that the suspect was ever in custody in Dane County, nor that he was “launched” again into the group — key issues Republicans have claimed.
Additionally, police stated this was not a random assault they usually haven’t had contact with different members of the gang.
