Here & Now

Neumann-Ortiz Discusses Immigration Concerns in Wisconsin

Frederica Freyberg:
Wisconsin U.S. Representative Mark Pocan reported back this week on his recent visit to a migrant children’s facility in Homestead, Florida. Pocan described the teenagers there were being held well over 20 days, which is the legal standard for migrant children’s detention centers. Federal authorities say Homestead is a temporary shelter and therefore not legally bound by length of stay requirements. Meanwhile, following a midweek hearing before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Chairman Ron Johnson called for implementation of his plan to speed up asylum considerations of immigrants crossing the southern U.S. border. Among other things, “Operation Safe Return” would allow Homeland Security to deport immigrant families within 15 days if no determination of a credible fear of their returning to their country of origin has been affirmed by an immigration judge. We check in on these topics now with Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de la Frontera, who joins us from Milwaukee. Thanks for doing so.

Christine Neumann-Ortiz:
Thank you so much for having me.

Frederica Freyberg:
First, what’s your reaction to Senator Johnson’s “Operation Safe Return” plan, which is designed to quickly determine whether migrants’ asylum claims are valid and rapidly return those without valid claims to their home countries?

Christine Neumann-Ortiz:
There’s no question this will create more harm for families that are coming to the United States to be reunited, in many cases, with their family and are fleeing violence. Right now what we’re seeing with the Trump administration is that there is a human rights crisis that’s happening, where people are being — who are seeking refuge, who are fleeing horrendous conditions, are being paraded in front of the — not just the United States, but the world, to see how their humanity is being degraded. They are being, in many cases obviously being denied their – under international and national law – their right to seek asylum through efforts, as in trying to strong-arm other governments to prevent them from coming to the United States. They’re also being denied in many ways legal representation, being denied food, water, leading to deaths of children. So these are conditions that don’t have to exist, yet they are being created intentionally to degrade an entire group of people. And Senator Johnson is moving — basically accelerating a process that is abhorrent and is outraging so many people across the country which is why we saw, nationally, all these protests that were being organized around what we’re witnessing at the border.

Frederica Freyberg:
As we noted, Representative Mark Pocan visited the Homestead facility and he said that the numbers of children there were down and he said he didn’t see horrific conditions. Do you suppose things are getting better?

Christine Neumann-Ortiz:
No. They’re not getting better, because we know for a fact that people are still — right now they’re still being — that process, it’s being interfered with. We just have had those recent reports and other site visits. So maybe in that circumstance, if they know he’s visiting and what he’s going to report out, I don’t want to see those conditions, I don’t want that to be reported. But given everything that is happening — and all of the official reports that have come out basically declaring that this is state-sponsored terror that is happening in terms of how these kids are being impacted. And this is from, you know, a — formal investigations and interviews. I would say no, things are not happening the way they should. And we constantly see that every day when something is being announced.

Frederica Freyberg:
How many children and/or families seeking asylum have come to Wisconsin, if you know?

Christine Neumann-Ortiz:
I don’t know the total numbers, but we have been working with families. The ones that we have been working with closest have been coming from the Kenosha detention facility, and a number of those families are [unintelligible]. Also like in some cases — well, people in that situation what we find mostly is that the thing that they’re most desperate for is to try to connect up with a family member. And this whole detention process, it’s not just fueled by this kind of hatred and degradation of people from other countries. It’s also fueled by big business. So there’s now like fees to call someone. There’s all these ways that money is being made out of the detention of people that folks struggle. That’s part of the challenge of being able to even apply your rights when you can’t afford to make a phone call or to get a credit card to contact someone. So in many ways that’s how the community has been helping people to establish those connections or raise money for a bond. The bond which can be very expensive, which is another way to kind of price out someone out of their — out of the rights that they have.

Frederica Freyberg:
This past Sunday, as you know, was supposed to be a day when ICE conducted raids to pick up undocumented people in ten cities across the U.S. That didn’t appear to take place. But what is it like in the immigrant population even here in Wisconsin when these raised are announced?

Christine Neumann-Ortiz:
There is, of course, naturally, tremendous concern. People are — you know, they have like what so many people say. It’s like I have to go about my — I have to go about my daily business because I have — I have to support my family. But yeah. People live in fear. And what we have done to conquer that fear is since the Trump administration came into office and all these protections were taken away, that would take into account, you know, your record, how long your family ties, all of that, which now is irrelevant under the Trump administration. What we have done is create a 24-hour, seven-day emergency number. This is very common nationally as a way that immigrant rights organizations have responded so that if there is an ICE sighting that is reported and — first of all, really verify if it’s a legitimate rumor or not. We ask people to videotape or photograph, have people go there. If it is the case, obviously to work with those families. If things are happening in real time or haven’t happened, there is now a strong sentiment of resistance. The last time there was a major raid right before the 2018 elections here. The largest I had seen in 20 years of organizing that lasted several days throughout the state, a — for example, in Madison, you had hotel workers that reported that ICE agents were staying in the hotel and that was able to get out and there was an emergency community meeting and folks were ready to go and do civil disobedience in the streets to demand that ICE leave the community. Just in Milwaukee there was a shutdown of ICE facilities by 30 faith leaders. That would not have happened before. So the extreme sense of solidarity and standing up for immigrants and refugees at this time I would say is the other side of the coin of what’s happening, that there is something that is very inspiring and good.

Frederica Freyberg:
All right. We need to leave it there. Christine Neumann-Ortiz, thanks very much.

Christine Neumann-Ortiz:
Thank you.