May first saw nationwide protests in support of immigrant and workers’ rights for May Day, or International Workers’ Day. In Milwaukee, Voces de la Frontera is the lead organizer of the May Day march and "a day without immigrants."
The Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts changed things for many hoping to participate in May Day marches and other protests. So, how can vulnerable communities stay safe while taking to the streets? That's the question WUWM's Jimmy Gutierrez asks in this edition of The Check-In: Voices from Milwaukee’s Changing Immigrant Landscape.
He's joined by Fernanda Jimenez, a founding member of the immigrant advocacy group Comite Sin Fronteras, along with Attorney Rich Saks.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Thinking about May Day and other marches going forward, what should people know before they march—specifically those who their status may be vulnerable and may be afraid to be in a public space?
Attorney Rich Saks: The first thing that's most important that everybody should be aware of, regardless of your status, is that the Constitution of the United States—and especially the First Amendment right to free expression— applies to all human beings who are currently in the United States, regardless of your immigration status. The constitutional protections to free speech and the right to assembly are protected and insured for all individuals living in the United States who want to participate in marches. What we see going on in the country is that what is constitutionally protected theoretically is not always respected by the current administration, so we say to everybody that there’s safety in numbers when participating in a march.
I'm curious if you have a basic checklist for folks to think about or keep in mind as they take to the streets. How can they keep themselves safe in a moment like this if they’re interested in marching?
Saks: The most important thing is to be with people who you know. If you're coming by yourself, try to stay near with other folks that you may know or can talk to, so that if something does happen during the march, there's other people there who could see what happened and who can also support each other. The other thing we always say is that we’ll have marshals throughout the march at every step, and to listen to the marshals. Someone who doesn't listen to the marshals is just inviting trouble into the march, so listen to the marshals. Those are the two most important things that we would tell people.
Fernanda, I know you're in constant conversation with mixed status and undocumented folks. When it comes to the May Day marches or the marches that have been happening over the past week, what are you hearing from people? What are the concerns that you're hearing from community members?
Fernanda Jimenez: Folks who are mixed status, undocumented or adjusting status have been expressing to us their fear of coming out to May Day and coming out to marches. And I think they have a feeling that if they put themselves out there and have their faces out during a march, pictures are being taken of them. There could be potential ICE presence at marches like this, and a lot of them are asking: 'Is it safe for me? Is it safe for my parents who are more vulnerable because they're fully undocumented?' But, as an undocumented immigrant with parents with different immigration statuses, I have always felt safe with my community, with my comrades, with Voces, with Comité Sin Fronteras, because they are trained and they have been doing this work for years.
What is your advice for people before they head out into the streets for May Day and then moving forward as well?
Jimenez: I think it's important that we don't feed into the fear in our communities. For DACA recipients and our parents and all those in mixed status families, we have made it clear to all of our people that we cannot win anything if we stay in the shadows. If we take any step back, we're going to stay back. And that's why it's so critical for everyone to come out to march — not just on May Day, but to continue coming out to our marches and our meetings, to stay informed, to know your rights and to be able to provide that information to the other people that you know. The more that we can give all of this information — to be in community — the better it is for everyone.
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