MILWAUKEE, WI — Following last night’s election of Donald Trump as President, Voces de la Frontera announced a series of community forums throughout Wisconsin. The first is at St. Rafael Catholic Church (2059 S 33rd St in Milwaukee) at 1pm on Sunday, November 13th (more info here). The second forum is at the Racine Labor Center (2100 Layard Ave in Racine) at 5pm on Sunday, November 13th (more info here).
In response to the election results, Voces de la Frontera issued the following statement:
“For 15 years, Voces de la Frontera has fought to defend immigrant workers and their families,” said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Executive Director of Voces de la Frontera. “With every organizing tool available, our community has ceaselessly protected itself from the same xenophobia that has now risen to power in the government. We’ve done it through marches, rallies, civil disobedience, lawsuits, building electoral power and more. With Trump’s election, we must now redouble our efforts.
“The immigrant rights movement is resilient, militant and rooted in working class identity. Our movement has broad experience mobilizing strikes, walkouts, boycotts, and economic action when political action has not been possible, as we did in Wisconsin when we defeated anti-immigrant state legislation earlier this year by organizing a Day Without Latinxs and Immigrants. If we see any movement to erode what our movement has won, like DACA, we will do whatever is needed to protect it. We are committed to organizing nationally with our networks and broadening the struggle to include other groups of workers and people who have been threatened by Trump.
“Trump’s message of fear and division unfortunately resonated with white blue collar voters, who have suffered economic hardship similar to African Americans and Latinos. In the decimation of union organization, they don’t feel there’s a voice for them. But I do not believe that the majority of those people represent the worst elements of the Trump campaign – the far-right, white supremacist ideology we’ve seen. I think that most Trump voters want the same things that people of color want and need. And the promise they hoped to see in Trump will be betrayed, because he never ran on a platform that supported working people.”
On Wednesday, Voces de la Frontera held a press conference where members spoke about how they are responding to Trump’s victory.
“I’m scared,” said Valeria Ruiz, 20, a DACA beneficiary from Racine. “From one day to another, my future, my 9 year old sister’s future, and that of more than 9 million undocumented immigrants in this country, is suddenly less certain. It’s terrifying. But we will do what we’ve always done – unite and fight.”
“I have a beautiful family,” said Lola Flores, an undocumented mother of four and Voces de la Frontera member from Waukesha. “Today my daughter called me from her middle school and told me that her Latino classmates were crying. It’s heartbreaking. But I will never stop fighting for the future of my children.”
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