Contact: Sam Singleton-Freeman, 414-469-9206, [email protected]
Josue Davalos, 262-744-3550, [email protected]
MADISON, WISCONSIN — On Saturday, July 20, Voces de la Frontera will hold the Racine stop of the Defending Families, Restoring Driver Licenses for Immigrants statewide tour. At Saturday’s meeting, community members will speak out about the need to build support for a bipartisan bill to restore driver licenses for immigrants and Voces will share organizing tools to communicate with Republican legislators to support restoring driver licenses. In light of the threats from the Trump Administration to start raids targeting families that have sought asylum, advocates will also conduct a Know Your Rights workshop and invite community members to be part of Voces’ rapid response network to respond to ICE raids. Representatives of the Mexican Consulate will also present on the services that the consulate provides.
The tour is a series of town hall forums in cities and towns across Wisconsin to build support for legislation to restore access to driver licenses for immigrant Wisconsinites. The first town hall was on July 5 in Green Bay. Forums have also been scheduled in Madison (July 20 at 10 AM), Waukesha (August 2), Dodgeville (August 3), Sheboygan (August 4), and Whitewater (August 23). Events are also planned in Eau Claire, Kenosha, Walworth County, Burlington, Wausau, and Appleton.
“Wisconsin is a welcoming community,” said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Executive Director of Voces de la Frontera. “We know there are Republicans who support restoring driver licenses for immigrants. This statewide tour is about building a broad movement that brings together rural and urban communities. This is a critical time when more families are being separated and the rural economy is facing a severe labor shortage in part due to a lack of driver licenses for immigrants. Rural jobs, which we all benefit from, are hard jobs. Immigrants who are part of this workforce are afraid to drive because getting stopped could lead to being detained by ICE and separated from your family. Wisconsin can do better.”
Follow Voces de la Frontera on Twitter at @voces_milwaukee and on Facebook.
Who: Voces de la Frontera, immigrant families, religious leaders, community allies, more
What: Defending Families, Restoring Driver Licenses for Immigrants Statewide Tour town hall meeting in Racine
When: Saturday, July 20, 3 PM CST
Where: Racine Labor Center, 2100 Layard Ave, Racine, WI 53404
