immigration

Since the mid-1990s, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been engulfed by civil war. The UN estimates that more than 6 million people have been killed in the conflict, and more than half a million have fled the country as refugees.

Edumakono Zetho was among them.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday heard oral arguments surrounding the Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals, also known as DACA. President Trump ran on a promise to do away with the program.

In Wisconsin, there are around 8,000 recipients of the program. On Tuesday, some of them gathered outside the courthouse in downtown Milwaukee in support of the program.

Over the past few years, the Trump administration has enacted controversial policies at the U.S.-Mexico border. That includes a family separation policy that led to more than 2,500 children being separated from their parents.

After public outcry, President Trump signed an order to end separation. But he continues to make the border a focal point of his administration.

Activists for immigration groups do not want the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) to collaborate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They spoke out Thursday at a Fire and Police Commission Policies and Standards Committee hearing trying to change the department's standard operating procedures.

MPD also offered up changes of its own.

Now, the ball is in the Fire and Police Commission's court to decide what changes to make — if any.

Since President Donald Trump was elected, there has been an increased focus on the fate of undocumented immigrants in the United States. But long before Trump’s ascendancy to the presidency, the U.S. had ramped up deportation efforts. And in 2012, the National Immigrant Youth Alliance decided to fight these deportations from the inside.

The idea of the American dream is a core part of our national identity. Starting with nothing and working your way up is what many of us believe it means to be an American. But that dream has always been complicated, as Aarti Shahani experienced firsthand. 

Every week, two dozen or so Latinos meet on Milwaukee’s south side. They're studying to become U.S. citizens. It is an often-unnoticed response to the current political climate, as President Trump made reshaping immigration the centerpiece of his 2016 campaign, his presidency, and his 2020 re-election bid. 

The Latino population — or, to use a gender-neutral term, the Latinx population — has grown steadily over the years. It accounts for almost 20% of Milwaukee's population today.

Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) came under fire Thursday night over a recent collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The message from those testifying at the Fire and Police Commission meeting was clear: move quickly on a policy that prohibits Milwaukee Police Department’s collaboration with ICE.

Hundreds of communities across the United States have designated themselves a "sanctuary" for immigrant families. Some have created policies vowing they won’t share information about a resident’s immigration status with the federal office of Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE).

But what does a "sanctuary city" really mean? And who has a say in the matter?

Sara McKinnon, a UW-Madison associate professor, says a sanctuary city isn't an official government term.

A mural wrapped around the outside of a Milwaukee County bus that tackles immigration enforcement and family separations is sparking debate.

The Milwaukee Art Museum paid for the mural as part of a summer art program for teens. But a Milwaukee County supervisor, Dan Sebring, is demanding the artwork be removed.