Thousands from across Wisconsin came to the State Capitol to rally for rights and protections for immigrants and workers May 2.
The protest, “A Day Without Immigrants and Workers,” was a nationwide effort with demonstrations across the country for a singular cause. In Wisconsin, the effort was organized by Milwaukee-based nonprofit Voces De La Frontera with protests in the city of Milwaukee on May 1 and Madison the following day where thousands met at Brittingham Park, 829 W. Washington Ave., before marching to the Capitol building.
Chants filled downtown as protesters made their way towards the state Capitol as they demanded justice for immigrant and worker rights. Protesters flooded the three stories in the Capitol’s rotunda with speakers from Voces, elected officials and community members.
“I’m here to tell you that Madison, Wisconsin, welcomes everyone,” said Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway. “Our diversity is our strength and it is the way that our community moves forward.”
Mayor Rhodes-Conway, along with Dane County Executive Melissa Agard and Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett, affirmed Madison and the county’s sanctuary stance.
“I’m here to ensure that the Dane County Sheriff’s Office will serve everyone with dignity, respect and humanity no matter who they are or where they come from, and that is a fact,” Sheriff Barrett said. “As we continue this fight against the [sic] injustices of the federal office, we must continue to stay together and to stay strong.”
The same day, Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan threatened mayors of sanctuary cities of possible arrests for protecting immigrants, The Baltimore Banner reported.
Homan also lobbied a threat of arrest to Gov. Tony Evers over a memo to state employees with instructions on what to do if ICE or other federal agents are at their workplace. Evers, like the speakers at A Day Without Immigrants, affirmed that they are not afraid of the potential arrest threats.
Other topics rallied for at the protest were state-issued driver’s licenses for immigrants. Tina Hinchley, vice president of the Wisconsin Farmers Union, pointed at the injustice of Wisconsin’s dairy industry’s heavy reliance on immigrant labor while refusing to allow them to legally drive.
Voces De La Frontera rounded out the protest with a promise to keep organizing as tensions from the Trump Administration’s immigration policies continue to cross new lines in safety and security of immigrants.
