[music] PATRICIA ÓMEZ: To begin, can you share your role in the coalition of states that are opposing some of President Trump's executive orders, particularly the one concerning birth citizenship?

JOSH KAUL: Absolutely.

We work together with our AG colleagues in other states on a number of different issues.

And sometimes we do that in a bipartisan fashion, like when we work to fight the opioid epidemic and hold pharmaceutical companies accountable.

But we also sometimes work together with certain subsets of AGs.

And since President Trump has been in office, other Democratic AGs and I have been actively involved in making sure that we're protecting the rights of Wisconsinites and ensuring that our laws are upheld.

One of the places where we've been doing that was with the President's executive order that would take birthright citizenship away from kids who are born in the United States.

We believe that that is clearly unconstitutional.

The Constitution contains language that specifically provides for citizenship for people born in the United States.

And it's also inconsistent with the U.S. Supreme Court precedent and federal law.

So a day after the President issued his executive order that reduced birthright citizenship, we filed a lawsuit.

And so far that case has been very successful.

We've gotten an order that blocks the administration from moving forward.

But that case continues to make its way through the court process.

And we're going to continue litigating it because I don't want to see the citizenship rights of kids who are born in this country taken away from them.

PATRICIA ÓMEZ: Sources have linked this executive order of President Trump to the point against women who are undocumented and their newborns.

What is your comment on that?

JOSH KAUL: Well, the president had said, even before he was sworn in, that he was going to work to reduce birthright citizenship and that he would be taking action, so when he signed that executive order on his first day in office, we were not shocked to see that.

We were prepared to respond with litigation.

And what's happened so far is that the courts have been clear that the president's executive order is unconstitutional.

So it has no effect because it's been blocked by court orders.

Now, there's going to be ongoing litigation over this.

But right now, except in extremely rare circumstances, when children are born in the U.S., they're U.S. citizens, and both the federal government and the state government have an obligation to provide appropriate documentation for those kids because they are citizens of the United States.

PATRICIA ÓMEZ: And you are telling me that's the current status of that issue?

JOSH KAUL: That's right.

We've gotten an order from the court that specifically bars the administration from implementing its executive order, but that is still in the court process.

It's important to know that there's going to be further litigation over this issue, and I think there's a good chance that this will ultimately end up before the US Supreme Court, but I'm very optimistic in our case.

Again, the US Constitution specifically provides that that folks were born in this country are US citizens and that's consistent with over a hundred years of Supreme Court precedent, so we have very strong arguments, and it's important that as attorneys general We are acting to protect the rights of our citizens, and that's what we're doing in this case.

PATRICIA ÓMEZ: Another issue you've been involved in is stopping Elon Musk and DOGE unauthorized access to the Treasury Department's central payment system.

Could you explain your position in this matter and its impact?

JOSH KAUL: As I think all Americans have seen at this point, Elon Musk has been very active in going from agency to agency and taking a number of actions that threaten to harm American citizens.

One of the things the federal government has done is stopped payments that it's legally obligated to make.

Another thing that's happened is that Musk's team at DOGE has tried to access confidential data at the U.S. Treasury Department.

Now the reason that's so concerning is that the Treasury Department has all sorts of data that could be used to compromise people's identity and could lead to identity theft.

It could be used for other problematic purposes.

And the U.S. Treasury Department is where huge amounts of money are issued from the U.S. government.

If somebody were to mess with that system in a way that made that system not work, it could have major harmful consequences for the economy.

I don't want to see that happen.

I don't think any Americans want to see that happen.

So other AGs and I filed suit seeking to block Musk's DOGE team from having access to the Treasury data.

We believe that they're not lawfully allowed to have that access.

And again, we got an order from the court that blocks that access.

So far when we have filed cases, the other Democratic AGs and I have been very successful in getting orders.

And the reason that keeps happening is because the Trump administration has been ignoring federal law, it has been trying to subvert the Constitution.

And because of that, when we've gone to court, we've been able to get relief that stops some of the most extreme actions the administration has taken from moving forward.

PATRICIA ÓMEZ: Governor Evers has supported a proposal for Democratic legislators to limit collaboration between State entities and ICE.

Recently, a proposal has emerged from Republican legislators that is totally the opposite.

How do you view this shift, and where do you stand on this issue?

JOSH KAUL: Well, I think it's important that the approach that law enforcement agencies take is based on what's in the best interest of public safety.

At the Department of Justice, we investigate and prosecute serious crimes that can include things like drug trafficking or homicides or fraud or a number of other offenses.

But our focus is always on how we can keep our communities safe.

One thing that's important as part of that is to make sure that members of the public know that if they have information about criminal activity that they feel safe reporting it.

So if we're investigating a case, for example, involving human trafficking and we have a bureau that's focused on human trafficking and internet crimes against children, our focus in those cases is on investigating and hopefully prosecuting the human traffickers, the people who are causing real harm to our communities.

And I want to see those decisions about how to best pursue public safety being made by law enforcement professionals, our investigators and our police chiefs and our sheriffs and not by politicians in the Wisconsin state legislature.

PATRICIA ÓMEZ: In addition to the birthright citizenship order and data handling, are there other significant policies or actions you have opposed since President Trump took office?

What motivates your stance on these issues?

JOSH KAUL: Another action that we've seen President Trump take is to essentially ban refugee support in the United States.

And it's important for people to understand what this is.

There are refugees who are currently in the United States, who are getting support from agencies, who are helping them get jobs and have training.

And these are folks who are very carefully vetted before they came to the United States.

So they're here in the United States, but the Trump administration has cut off funding to support efforts that ultimately support refugees.

And we in Wisconsin and other states are gonna be impacted by this action.

So we joined a brief in support of a challenge to President Trump's action that would ban funding for these refugee support services.

By banning that funding, he's undermined in the process and again, taking action that's inconsistent with federal law.

The other thing that we're watching very closely is to see what actions that the Trump administration takes around sensitive places like schools or churches.

President Trump repealed the policy from the prior administration that limited what ICE could do in those kinds of places.

I don't wanna see folks showing up on deportation raids and our schools or in churches.

That's not where folks who the administration has said they're going to be targeting are likely to be found.

And it creates a risk of terrorizing kids in our communities.

We need to make sure that we are keeping schools and churches as safe places.

So we're gonna continue watching carefully and making sure that we are protecting the rights of Wisconsinites.

Now as to what motivates my stance on this issue, it's very simple.

As Attorney General, part of my job is to protect the safety and the rights of Wisconsinites.

And we are committed to doing that and whether it's an effort to take citizenship away from kids who are born in this country or any other kind of action that might violate the rights of Wisconsinites.

We're prepared to take action to make sure that Wisconsinites rights are protected.

PATRICIA ÓMEZ: We are seeing everywhere that some actions by the Trump administration are happening around the country and especially in the area of deportation and raids executed by ICE.

How do you see, how do you assess Wisconsin's current legal landscape, especially in the terms of balancing state rights with federal policies under this administration?

JOSH KAUL: Well, again, as somebody who works at an agency that's committed to keeping people in our communities safe, the concern that I have is that the Trump administration has shifted focus away from fighting crime and made it very specifically about going after immigration cases.

And I think our top priority needs to be keeping our communities safe.

So you've heard the Trump administration talk about potentially people who've committed serious violent crimes and being deported.

And look, I don't object to and I don't think anybody really objects to people who've committed some horrific crime being subject to deportation proceedings.

But what I don't wanna see and what I'm concerned we may see from the administration, and I think to some extent what we are seeing is not the administration focusing on those kinds of cases, but instead going after people regardless of the circumstances.

And like I said, getting rid of some of these policies that protect places like schools or churches.

And also in Wisconsin, of course, we have a very significant agricultural industry and the possibility that the Trump administration's actions could cause serious damage to that industry would have a major negative impact on jobs and economic growth in Wisconsin.

So we need to make sure that the way that the Trump administration is approaching this is done by focusing on how it can best serve public safety and not just based on statements that Trump or somebody else in his administration make for political purposes and not with public safety top of mind.

PATRICIA ÓMEZ: Given the current political polarization, how do you navigate your responsibilities as a attorney general while balancing your personal beliefs with the duties of your office?

JOSH KAUL: Well, again, I think it's important for us at the Department of Justice to focus on protecting people's rights and ensuring that the laws followed.

The other thing that I think we have a big role to play in is making sure to communicate accurate information to the public about what's happening.

Because we've seen a lot of rhetoric from the president and from some people in his administration that's designed to so fear and to cause a lack of community and division.

But we know that communities are safer and stronger when there is a strong sense of community and when people are able to work together.

So I want to encourage folks throughout Wisconsin to remain in touch with each other to collaborate because we are stronger when we don't have division in our communities.

And it's also important for people not to panic based on the kinds of rhetoric that we're hearing.

There's a difference between what the Trump administration is saying and what's happening in reality.

And what I can tell folks is that we at the Department of Justice are committed to standing up for people's rights.

And I know that there are a number of organizations around the state that are also focused on protecting the best interests of the people of Wisconsin and upholding people's rights.

PATRICIA ÓMEZ: Attorney General, how is this collaboration happening right now?.

There were a few states working together?.

Are the numbers growing?

Can you tell us about that?

JOSH KAUL: Well, the other states with Democratic AGs and I have worked together very closely.

Since the election we knew that the president would seek to make a number of changes and that's what you expect with any new president coming into office.

But at the same time it's vital that any changes that are made are done in a way that respects people's rights and that follows the law and that's consistent with the Constitution.

And President Trump has been very clear that he's going to take actions regardless of what the law says and regardless of what the Constitution says.

The attack on birthright citizenship is a perfect example of that.

So my colleagues in other states and I have worked together to identify areas where we have concerns about what the administration is doing and then figuring out where we can potentially bring legal action.

For me the question is always simple.

Number one, is there an action being taken that harms the interests of Wisconsinites?

And number two, is there a good basis to challenge it in court?

When those two things are happening I want to make sure that our Department of Justice is involved in taking action to protect people's rights and that seems to be consistent with the approach that my colleagues in a number of other states have taken as well.

So our coalition is strong.

I believe there are 23 of us who have been working together and I am confident that we're going to continue working together in the months ahead.

PATRICIA ÓMEZ: How do you see the landscape of Wisconsin under the constant ongoing political challenges?

JOSH KAUL: Well I think a lot of it remains to be seen.

With immigration which we've been talking about, one thing that I think was unclear when the President took office and largely remains unclear is precisely what kinds of actions the administration is going to take.

They've talked about potentially making changes to birthright citizenship and they've talked about increased enforcement efforts.

But what types of efforts they take, where they take those efforts and how they support those efforts logistically is something that we are watching closely because it's critical that any actions that are taken are done consistent with people's rights and the law.

But as long as the President and his administration continue to take actions that violate the law or jeopardize people's rights, we're going to be prepared to take action.

One area we've seen that is with freezes of federal funds.

There are a number of funds that were appropriated by Congress which has the power to appropriate funds under the Constitution.

And even though they were passed into law, the Trump administration has said that they are not going to allow those funds to be utilized.

We have argued that that violates the US Constitution.

So we took action and we intend to be involved in any cases where there are violations of the law and where people's rights are at stake.

PATRICIA ÓMEZ: You mentioned and you made a call to the people in Wisconsin to stay united and to collaborate.

Is there any other message that you would like to share with our audience?

JOSH KAUL: I think it's really important for people to separate the rhetoric that we're hearing from the Trump administration from what's actually happening in practice because we've heard a lot of things that the administration has talked about doing, but what we're actually seeing is somewhat different.

And so the key thing for people is to stay informed and to continue working to make our communities safer and stronger.

We're committed to doing that at DOJ and I think it's important for people to know that we are committed to standing up for people's rights.

But ultimately it takes people in communities across the state working together to make our communities stronger that is going to ultimately make a positive difference and help our state continue moving forward.

PATRICIA ÓMEZ: Attorney General, there are probably 70,000 undocumented Latinos living in Wisconsin, and most of them are hardworking people.

Most of them may be working on their legal status.

Would you have a message for them?

JOSH KAUL: Well, my message to all Wisconsinites is I know that there's a lot of rhetoric out there from the president and his administration, but what I think it's important for people to know is that we do have a system with legal protections in place.

And look, the reality is that the federal government has authority to enforce our immigration laws, and the president will make decisions, and his administration will make decisions about how those laws are enforced.

But my message to his administration and my message to those who are concerned about public safety is that our priority as we are enforcing our immigration laws or other laws should be on public safety and how we can best serve the interests of public safety.

I don't think that those interests are best served by, for example, going after Dreamers who are in this country and who have worked hard and done everything they can do to build a life in the United States.

I don't think it makes sense for the administration to go into schools to conduct immigration raids.

So I'm going to use my voice and to accept that people's rights are impacted, like where there was an effort to reduce birth rights citizenship availability.

We're committed to taking action, and I know that there are others around the state who are as well.

PATRICIA ÓMEZ: Attorney General Josh Kaul, thank you so much for being with us today.

JOSH KAUL: Thanks for having me.

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