They lift your spirits, prompt you to think, make you feel grateful and inspire you to do more. They connect you to our community, shining a spotlight on what's good about our city. They're stories that are Uniquely Milwaukee.
In Milwaukee, there’s a local group working to advance immigration reform. At the center of their work: undocumented immigrants.
“We use the term ‘solo el pueblo salva el pueblo,’ so ‘only people are gonna save people.’ And it's a network of multi-connected working groups.”
That’s Iuscely Flores, one of the co-chairs of Comité Sin Fronteras. Through grassroots efforts, this group of undocumented and DACA-mented leaders meet weekly to address various needs of their community.
DACA stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals — sometimes referred to as “Dreamers.” It’s an immigration policy offering temporary protection from deportation for undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country as children.
“I knew that after Trump winning the presidential election, DACA recipients would be at risk,” Flores said. “I helped fund-raise so we could host DACA renewal clinics. And there was already a lineup of amazing Comité members that I just showed how to fill out the application forms for DACA.
“We held four clinics in less than two months, and we helped about 50 DACA recipients renew their work permit.”
Across the nation, there’s been a surge of ICE presence in large cities, including the Midwest. Milwaukee County prepared itself for this possibility in February, when county leaders passed an ordinance stopping ICE from staging in public parks without approval. Comité Sin Fronteras has been at the forefront of these efforts alongside other groups in the community defense network.
“We need to figure out a model that'll prepare us for large ICE surges,” Flores said. “We have our ‘Migra Watch’ program, which does ICE verifying around the city of Milwaukee. We have solidarity and piqueteros, which are folks that train people on how to have healthy rallies and marches. We have our sanctuary and interfaith, and then we have mutual aid.”
Jenny Melo is the co-chair for Comité’s mutual-aid program and got involved with the organization “to fight for this work and for things that don't necessarily affect me but do affect people that I love and care deeply about.”
The mutual-aid concept uses a family-to-family model, with relatives receiving from others — whether it’s food, help setting up appointments or just some company. Currently, the program is focused on getting money directly to people impacted by ICE detainments.
“There are a lot of families who don't have a net or system here, so we're making those connections,” Melo said. “Some of the mutual aid is power of attorney, finding someone that can take care of your assets. Once we build that bridge and you feel comfortable and you get to know that person, they might be able to take that on, too.”
In March, the Milwaukee Common Council passed a resolution calling for the abolition of ICE and requesting that the agency not conduct enforcement in the city. Flores called it “the model that we hope other parts of Wisconsin replicate.”
“What is working in Milwaukee might not work in Wausau,” she added, “but we have a toolkit, and we hope that they can replicate it and take whatever they want from it and add more. If they have suggestions, we're always open to them because we want to advance this network across the state to be ready for what's next.
As Flores, Melo and all of Comité Sin Fronteras dedicate their time to supporting undocumented communities in Milwaukee, it’s a constant reminder of the importance of connecting with one another.
“I think a lot of the things that are happening right now that feel really overwhelming are meant to make us feel overwhelmed and lonely,” Melo said. “And when we feel that way, we feel like there’s no hope. But there’s always hope, even in the most hopeless moments. And I think that this work has really taught me that.
“When one of us is down, the other one picks that person up.”
