KENOSHA, Wis. — Kenosha County and several Wisconsin sheriffs suffered a procedural defeat in federal court after a federal judge ruled they waited too long to move the high-profile ICE detainer lawsuit out of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, sending the case back to the state’s highest court. The ruling represents an early loss for the sheriffs, including Kenosha County Sheriff David Zoerner, and may now lead to a potentially expensive appeal process funded by taxpayers.

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The lawsuit, brought by Voces de la Frontera, challenges whether Wisconsin sheriffs can lawfully hold inmates under federal immigration detainers. The respondents include Sheriff David Zoerner and several other sheriffs around Wisconsin. The federal judge did not decide the merits of the immigration issue itself, but instead ruled that the sheriffs missed the legal deadline for removing the case from the Wisconsin Supreme Court into federal court.

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Judge William Conley wrote that the sheriffs waited 103 days after receiving the petition before seeking removal, far outside the 30-day deadline allowed under federal law. The judge rejected the argument that the removal clock only began once the Wisconsin Supreme Court formally accepted the case. He further noted that the sheriffs had already raised the same federal arguments months earlier, undermining their position.

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The judge also appeared skeptical that the sheriffs were simply seeking the proper venue, writing that defendants cannot “test the waters” in one court and retreat elsewhere if they do not like how things are going — describing such conduct as the type of forum shopping courts seek to avoid.

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The ruling raises questions about whether this procedural loss could have been avoided. The sheriffs, including Zoerner, are represented by attorney Samuel C. Hall Jr., a lawyer frequently retained by Kenosha County. The federal court’s decision suggests the issue was not a complex legal interpretation on the merits, but a missed filing deadline.

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Instead of proceeding in the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the sheriffs have now filed a joint appeal to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, meaning the litigation will continue and potentially expand in cost. Taxpayers will ultimately fund Kenosha County’s share of those legal expenses, which could easily reach tens of thousands of dollars or more as appellate briefing and arguments continue.

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The move into federal court likely was not accidental. The Wisconsin Supreme Court currently has a strong liberal majority, and many conservative observers have argued that immigration-related cases face difficult odds there. While political labels do not determine outcomes, the attempt to remove the case to federal court may have reflected concern over having the issue decided by a court viewed by many as significantly left-leaning.

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The lawsuit itself has placed Zoerner in an unusual position. Ironically, Zoerner previously opposed a 287(g) agreement, publicly stating that entering such an arrangement with ICE was not in the best interests of Kenosha County. Only later, after facing political criticism and beginning to draw challengers in the sheriff’s race, did Zoerner ultimately sign a 287(g) agreement. Critics argued at the time that the reversal appeared driven more by political pressure than by a change in philosophy.

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Now Zoerner finds himself defending a legal position that closely mirrors arguments made by Voces de la Frontera — specifically that local sheriffs lack authority to hold individuals solely on federal immigration detainers.

For now, the practical effect of the ruling is straightforward: despite the attempted move to federal court, the case is headed back to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, unless the appeal changes that outcome. And before any decision is ever reached on the core immigration questions, taxpayers may be paying for another lengthy round of litigation.

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