After being on the front line during COVID, hundreds of Wisconsin Latinx strike for immigration reform
Jessica RodriguezHundreds marched Monday from Milwaukee's south side to the Federal Courthouse in the statewide "Day without Latinx and immigrants" strike.
Activists with Voces de la Frontera organized the strike following a U.S. Senate parliamentarian opinion that key reforms related to immigration could not be included in the Build Back Better reconciliation budget bill awaiting Congress.
More strikes are organized in other states leading to the Oct. 31 deadline when Democrats will vote on the bill.
Latinx essential workers, business owners and allies were called to participate by not going to work or school and not spending any money.
Ramiro Castillo, who founded Castillo Landscaping almost 18 years ago, closed his business Monday and marched alongside his son.
"We show a lot of power in participating in a day without Latinos," Castillo said in Spanish.
Castillo moved to the United States from Mexico when he was 18 and began working, often for little pay. He recalls receiving a $500 paycheck after working 80 hours in a week.
"I know what it is to live under a shadow," he said.
Now a business owner, Castillo felt it was crucial for him to support his community by demanding immigration reform.
"Look at the pandemic," he said. "Immigrants were the ones working."
Castillo said he witnessed families face retaliation on their jobs for speaking out against poor working conditions at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic.
"This is why it is so important to do something like this," he said.
The last time Voces de La Frontera organized a Day without Latinx and immigrants was in 2017 when activists protested former Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr.’s plan to crack down on illegal immigration by partnering with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Similar strikes have been organized throughout the country on different occasions to demonstrate the key role the Latinx community plays in the U.S.
Partners Sofia Fuentes and Renee Valdez made the decision to shut down their new business, Ellas Cafe, in support of immigration reform.
"I feel like it is important to be here because, especially in the last two years, we have been in the front lines working during COVID," Fuentes said. "A lot of essential jobs were taken by us (Latinos) and we deserve the same protections."
Fuentes and Ramirez opened Ellas Cafe four months ago. They do pop-up events and catering. Although they have customers relying on deliveries on Mondays, Fuentes said it was important for them to participate in the strike and their customers would understand the importance of their absence.
Fuentes is also a sixth-grade math teacher at La Causa Charter School and took the day off. She hopes to go back to work and speak to her students about why it was important for her to participate in the roughly 3-mile march.
Basilisa Hernandez traveled from Appleton to march with hundreds of essential workers, students and their families. Hernandez owns a cleaning business.
"It's important for me to be here today because as an essential worker, during the pandemic we suffered a lot," she said in Spanish. "On one hand, it was a blessing to still have work available, but we were at risk and some of us got sick."
The march ended with a rally at the Federal Courthouse, where teachers, farmworkers and allies spoke about their experiences as immigrants in the country.
More:Monday is Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Wisconsin. Why some say it should be a national holiday.
Jessica Rodriguez is a Report for America corps reporter who focuses on news of value to underserved communities for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Please consider supporting journalism that informs our democracy with a tax-deductible gift to this reporting effort at JSOnline.com/RFA.
