The Sheboygan Common Council voted overwhelmingly Monday to defeat a resolution to toughen Sheboygan’s immigration enforcement after hundreds of protesters rallied at City Hall against the measure.
Sheboygan AlderJob Hou-seye proposed a resolution to let police detain undocumented immigrants and send them away. Resolution 200 would instruct the Sheboygan Police Department to effectively act as federal immigration agents and detain community members for potential removal if they are unable to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship or other legal immigration status.
The document had drawn vocal opposition from Milwaukee-based immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera, which led a rally of about 300 people against the resolution Monday night outside Sheboygan City Hall a half hour before the council meeting. Protesters crowded into the City Hall’s council chambers to watch the discussion on the measure unfold and applauded after the vote.
According to The Sheboygan Press, several people voiced opposition to the measure during the public forum portion of the city council meeting. Anna DeSantos gave an emotional testimony telling about how the father of her daughter was deported several decades ago.
“The ghost of not having her father has caused her so much trauma, so much emptiness, so much pain,” DeSantos said. “My daughter turned to drugs to soothe herself.”
“Just remember,” she added, “it takes two parents to raise a child nowadays. I just ask you, ‘Why?’ Why give that ripple effect more strength to carry on? It will only cause more trauma, more pain, more suffering for another family. Is Resolution 200 really necessary?”
President Donald Trump said in an executive order that he would not provide federal funding to sanctuary cities. Sheboygan is not on that list. Madison is one of many cities that has take a proactive stand to prohibit police from performing federal immigration enforcement.
