Here & Now

Noon Wednesday with guest Mario Garcia Sierra

Marisa Wojcik:

Welcome to “Noon Wednesday.” I’m Marisa Wojcik, a multimedia journalist with “Here and Now” on Wisconsin Public Television. Today, many facets of immigration are being closely watched and debated right now, and it’s a fiercely personal issue, especially in Wisconsin. Joining me today is Mario Garcia Sierra. And he’s an active member of Voces De La Frontera, a statewide immigrants’ rights organization. And Mario, thank you so much for being here today.

Mario Garcia Sierra:

Thank you, Marissa. It’s a pleasure and an honor to be here with you this afternoon.

Marisa Wojcik:

So, to start, can we hear a little bit about a young man’s story from Waukesha, Franco Ferreyra?

Mario Garcia Sierra:

Right, yeah, and this is a very typical story that we are hearing more and more these days. But it’s that classic story of a young person who is brought here to the United States, in this case from Argentina. He comes with his family, and on a tourist visa. Then, his visa expires and he remains in the country. And then he builds a life here, gets married, and then some years later, have four kids. And along those years is also a couple tickets, because he was never able to adjust his status, because, just, there was no way for him to do it under this current immigration framework that we have. So, he ends up being pulled over a few times for driving with no license, also his car, I think, was missing a taillight once. And he also once got a ticket for driving under the influence. So, because of those connections or those contacts with law enforcement, he was referred to immigration. And, eventually, he was detained, and he remains detained right now. And this is when Voces de la Frontera is working with his family, the community, to release this man and have this man to be where he belongs, in his home with his kids. He doesn’t mean any threat to society or anything, but he’s just a hardworking man that is here. Waukesha is his home. And the kids, every day that goes by, they miss him, and he also needs his kids. A few days ago, we celebrated Father’s Day, and with that everyone gets this reminder of how important our kids are for our lives and how they depend on us, the adults. But, in the meantime, we have situations like this Ferrara man, who is separated from his family because this administration has decided to do that. They don’t have to do it, but it seems that they want to keep their base or somebody happy, so that they engage in this type of inhumane policies.

Marisa Wojcik:

So, Voces is wanting people who can’t prove their immigration status to be able to obtain a driver card.

Mario Garcia Sierra:

Right.

Marisa Wojcik:

Now, what kind of documentation would they need in order to obtain a card like this?

Mario Garcia Sierra:

Right, so in the state of Wisconsin, as of now, you can only obtain an I.D. or a driver’s license if you can prove that you are here with the right documents. So, you need a Social Security number, a work permit, or something that you can prove that the government is allowing you to stay here. This was not the case some years ago, but that’s the reality now, so Voces is working with communities across Wisconsin to change that, so people have the ability to apply for a driver’s license, to learn the rules of the road, to get insurance, and to be informed how to be a good driver. So, that’s good for us. So, if the legislature here in Wisconsin can, and we hope that they can, and they want to do this, is that they can now provide either a driver’s license or a driver’s card, that people can still apply and get it so–

Marisa Wojcik:

Can people take public transportation? Are there alternatives to allowing people to get a driver card?

Mario Garcia Sierra:

Meaning instead of getting a driver’s card?

Marisa Wojcik:

Mm-hmm.

Mario Garcia Sierra:

I mean, yes and no. What we see here is, throughout Wisconsin, I will say, the public transportation is not reliable. And people are taking it now, but on a daily basis, people need to take their kids to school, they need to work, a lot of families have more than one job. So, really, sometimes they only have a 20 minute or half an hour window between jobs. So, they need to move from point A to point B pretty quickly. You have the case of rural Wisconsin, where there are a lot of dairy farms that rely on this immigrant labor, and they are working there pretty early in the morning, Three AM, four AM is when the guys show up to milk those cows. So, really there is not an alternative, but making sure that people who are driving know the rules of the road and have that driver’s card.

Marisa Wojcik:

So, for someone who is not documented, is there any sort of fear that they would become part of the system and they wouldn’t even want to obtain a driver card?

Mario Garcia Sierra:

I think that that’s, for sure, that’s the fear for some people, but at the same time, the need, I think, is higher than the fear. People need some type of ID to identify themselves, when they are, for example, buying a car or obtaining a library card or membership, all kind of stuff, people need an ID, so I think that, for example, in the case of DACA, that was one of the fears, that what’s gonna happen with all of that information, but, at the end of the day, the government already has some type of information on these people, so I think that people are willing to take the risk to provide or give the government more information so that they can obtain this driver’s card and be able to drive without the fear or the paranoia that they are gonna be detained. And then might have a contact with immigration enforcement that can lead to a deportation. So, that’s the main fear right there, deportation.

Marisa Wojcik:

Are there other fears in terms of if someone is, maybe, witness to a crime or is the victim of a crime, they don’t want to seek out law enforcement?

Mario Garcia Sierra:

Right. I think that that’s key, and that’s why a lot of law enforcement professionals are speaking in favor of a driver’s card, because they know that they rely on the community. And one, they want the community to trust law enforcement, that law enforcement is gonna be there when they need it, but also that, in any case, somebody needs to call 911, that they are gonna do it without the fear of any repercussions. And a lot of times, immigrants are victims of crime themselves, and sometimes people are afraid of reporting that, but other times they are witnesses of crime, so if people fear of law enforcement (coughs), excuse me, then they won’t be contacting law enforcement because, again, the fear of more contact with immigration, and then deportation.

Marisa Wojcik:

Is there any risk of any sort of fraud if someone who is undocumented has a driver’s card? Would it look like a Wisconsin ID? Could they try to vote? How does that work?

Mario Garcia Sierra:

Right. I mean, I guess that that’s to be determined, to tell you the truth. I mean, we human beings are complicated sometimes. But the idea is that this document won’t be too much different from a driver’s license or an ID, because we also don’t want people to be discriminating people who will hold one of these cards if that will happen. So, in terms of fraud, I mean, I don’t think so. We have to register to vote and there is a process for that where there are some check and balances, so I really don’t see that happening.

Marisa Wojcik:

What are some other stories and things that you’re hearing as you’re active with members of Voces?

Mario Garcia Sierra:

Right. I mean, right now, I think that, even though what’s happening at the border right now is far away from Wisconsin, but people feel devastated. People feel that this administration is really pushing against this community in a way that it’s cruel, it’s inhumane, and it’s violating the human rights. So, that’s kind of the fear here. And it kind of like translates to the daily lives, and to thinking, what’s gonna happen to me? Like when I leave work, I don’t know if I’ll come back. It comes down to, for example, some of my close friends coming up to me and my wife and asking, “Will you be willing to be in charge of my kids “if one day I’m not around?” So, signing those documents where my wife and I will be able to take care of the kids in the meantime, when their parents are being in detentions or are being in deportation proceedings. So, it’s a really devastating reality for these families who are here just trying to create a better future for their families and for their kids. And, also, a lot of communities in Wisconsin depend on these families as well. So, we also see a lot of people who understand this reality, and they are speaking up in support of these immigrant families.

Marisa Wojcik:

Mario, thank you so much for joining us today. We really appreciate you expanding on it and telling us some stories of people in Wisconsin.

Mario Garcia Sierra:

Thank you, Marissa, and thank you again.

Marisa Wojcik:

If you like this interview, please share it. And we want to hear from you, we want to hear your comments. For more “Here and Now” coverage and more on Wisconsin Public Television, visit wpt.org. And thank you so much for joining us on “Noon Wednesday.”