MILWAUKEE — Hundreds of community members voiced their concerns at South Division High School in Milwaukee on Saturday for the annual Voces de la Frontera assembly.

Voces de la Frontera, known as “Voices from the Border” in English, is a nonprofit immigrant rights organization.

What You Need To Know

  • More than 400 people attended the Voces De La Frontera annual assembly

  • Voces de la Frontera is a statewide nonprofit immigrant rights organization

  • Voces ramps up "Know Your Rights" workshops and opens up billigual hotline amid deportation fears

  • Organizers work to prevent family separation, exploitation and violence

For more than 20 years, Voces has been helping immigrants and their families in the state of Wisconsin.

Organizers said what’s typically a celebratory event, has now been shadowed by looming fears about executive orders put forth by President Donald Trump’s administration.

“President Trump’s recent executive actions on immigration were not surprising, have created heightened concerns in our communities,” said Voces de la Frontera Executive Director Christine Neumann-Ortiz.

Among those concerns include family separation, discrimination, exploitation and violence. Milwaukee leaders said they’re ready to support their community.

“I strive to make sure that they know that I’m here for them,” said Milwaukee County Supervisor Juan Miguel Martinez. “I’m here to protect in every single way that I can.”

“What’s occurring to our people is real, it’s ugly, and it feels like it won’t be going away anytime soon,” said Milwaukee Common Council President Jose Perez.

But they said they’re prepared to fight. Voces has set up a bilingual emergency hotline and is organizing more “Know Your Rights” workshops in hopes to gain more outreach. 

“It’s going to be a little bit of a tougher battle, frankly,” said Neumann-Ortiz.

“United States is a country of immigrants and no one group being better than another,” said Perez.

“In Milwaukee and Wisconsin, we’re standing up for what’s right. And we’ve done that in the past in such powerful ways,” said Neumann-Ortiz.

Following Wisconsin’s State of the State address earlier this week, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos hinted at coming legislation this session tied to immigration.

Spectrum News 1 reached out to the Republican Party of Wisconsin regarding Trump’s deportation operations across the country and its impact on Wisconsin, but have yet to receive a response.

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