Community leaders condemn ICE raids

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (WAUK) – A coalition of community leaders, elected officials, and faith-based organizations gathered at Milwaukee City Hall on Friday to condemn widening ICE enforcement actions in Wisconsin. 

“We are here today to say enough is enough,” says Darryl Morin, President of Forward Latino, a national advocacy organization.  “The federal government’s aggressive enforcement tactics are not making our communities safer — they are tearing families apart and sowing fear in the very places we should be building trust.”

The press conference came after seven people in northern Madison were arrested by ICE on Thursday. Madison police first learned of the action from community advocates.

In late September, federal agents picked up two dozen dairy workers in Manitowoc, in a parking lot on their way to work. At least one man swept up in the Manitowoc raid was deported within four days of the operation, reports Wisconsin Watch.

“We know now that three of six workers in Manitowoc have been deported. Another has been moved to a detention center outside Wisconsin,” says Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Executive Director of Voces de la Frontera.

ICE operations are one thing that will continue despite a federal shutdown, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Neumann-Ortiz, like others, urged the need for immigrant communities to know their rights. 

“You can fight your deportation. But people need to know that, and not be tricked or conned into signing voluntary departures, as we are witnessing as a standard ICE protocol,” she added. 

The raids, which were part of a broader national immigration crackdown, have raised concerns that the increased ICE presence is undermining community safety. Advocates argue that families are becoming reluctant to seek medical care, go to work, or send children to school due to the uncertainty surrounding federal enforcement actions.

While federal officials have defended the raids, claiming they are targeting individuals with criminal records, critics argue that the lack of detailed information and formal charges has left many in the dark. ICE has not disclosed specific charges for most of the detainees, and several individuals were deported within days of their arrest — sparking further concern from advocacy groups.

The press conference also addressed the broader issue of racial profiling in immigration enforcement. Roberta Clark is Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation. She says hatred starts with language that isolates, discriminates, and divides.

“Let’s talk about thoughts and words. When we are referring to someone who is in this country undocumented, let’s use that word: undocumented. Far too often, we hear the phrase ‘illegal alien.’ Let me be clear: no human being is either illegal, or alien,” she said to applause. 

“We are each human beings deserving of dignity and respect. If someone engages in illegal actions, the actions are illegal, not the human being,” she added.  

Advocates urged resources like the Voces de la Frontera hotline, which works to confirm or deny of ICE in a community.

And they’re urging immigrant families to prepare for future enforcement actions and to know their rights — including by refusing to sign self-deportation orders.

“I was literally on the phone when an individual — an immigrant who was detained, who had no criminal history — was on the phone with his significant other, and that ICE representative was literally screaming at the detained immigrant, saying he needed to sign that self-deportation order. We were very loudly instructing him not to do it, because it’s his right not to. And that they had to allow him to talk to his attorney,” said Morin.

“That’s happening on a daily basis. The violation of constitutional rights are happening right now on a daily basis.”

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