A new initiative around the country to welcome immigrants can be seen on highways in the United States to combat an increase in hateful and violent anti-immigrant disinformation.
United We Dream (UWD), the United State’s largest immigrant youth-led advocacy group, has launched over 35 billboards across the country with “Immigrants are Welcome Here!” The billboards are in five states currently including Texas, Ohio, Arizona, Colorado and Wisconsin. The initiative comes to address a rise in hateful rhetoric towards immigrant communities with UWD citing the recent Springfield, Ohio, disinformation of Haitian immigrants kicking out residents and eating cats in the city — which has been debunked.
“From Texas to Arizona to Ohio, our communities have seen a rise in violent anti-immigrant disinformation that has resulted in threats, violence and deadly policies that put a target on the backs of anyone and everyone who is undocumented,” said Annabel Mendoza, director of communications at UWD. “It’s simple: words can either harm or heal. Anti-immigrant disinformation in this country has emboldened vigilante attacks, from the tragic and preventable El Paso massacre five years ago to the Buffalo shooting two years ago and now the recent bomb threats against Haitian communities in Ohio.”
The group aims to bring attention to, and refute, continued remarks towards the immigrant community. It calls the effort an “unapologetic declaration of immigrants’ humanity and a reminder that we have the power to uplift and care for one another.”
In Wisconsin, 10 of the billboards have popped up throughout the state. Billboards read, in both English and Spanish, “In Wisconsin, family comes first. Wisconsinites keep immigrant families together.”
Three of the billboards can be found in Milwaukee County, two in Brown County and one in Dane, Marathon, Sheboygan, Monroe and Winnebago counties.
The initiative highlights continued right-wing rhetoric pushed in the election. Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de la Frontera, Wisconsin’s leading immigrant rights advocacy group, points at the attempts to divide Wisconsinites through the weaponization of lies.
“From our dynamic urban centers to our hardworking rural communities, Wisconsinites know that immigrants are decent, hardworking, and respectful people who come to our state seeking a better life,” Neumann-Ortiz said. “Their presence enriches our economy, culture, and the prosperity of our communities.”
