Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez on State Policy Addressing ICE raids

Frederica Freyberg:
As Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE agents sweep the nation, making thousands of arrests in what President Donald Trump promises to be the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. Communities, including here in Wisconsin, are on edge. A state representative whose district in Milwaukee represents the largest Hispanic population in Wisconsin has introduced a bill to prevent state or local police from helping to detain people in churches, schools, hospitals and publicly owned buildings solely on the basis that they are alleged to not be legally present in the U.S. We’re joined by Democratic Representative Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, and thanks very much for being here.

Sylvia Ortiz-Velez:
Thank you for having me here today.

Frederica Freyberg:
How on edge are people in your community in the midst of these ICE sweeps?

Sylvia Ortiz-Velez:
I’ve never seen anything like it. People are scared about whether or not they’re going to come home from work and be able to pick up their kids. People are scared if they’re going to be swept up in raids, even regular citizens. And the reason we’re scared is because of the past history in this nation. When mass deportations have happened, and also because some of the directives, that extreme directives that are coming out of Washington, D.C.

Frederica Freyberg:
Would state legislation supersede things like ICE directives?

Sylvia Ortiz-Velez:
Well, the way it works is they, they can certainly perform their legal duties, but the state is not required to help them in that. And I think that’s important to understand. As far as I know right now, there has not been any funding coming from the feds. And right now, our state is — all states are possibly facing cuts from Congress. And in these uncertain times, it’s not very wise for us to spend money when we legally don’t have to, because we don’t know what we’re going to have.

Frederica Freyberg:
Because your bill would also prohibit the use of state taxpayer dollars from aiding in the deportation of immigrants.

Sylvia Ortiz-Velez:
Yeah. And that would only, again, it only applies when there’s no judicial warrant. So certainly if they have a judicial warrant, they have a criminal record, we definitely want to make sure our communities are safe. But what we’re afraid of is violating — people’s rights being violated. We’re afraid that they’re going to take people who pose no public threat, and we’re afraid they’re going to take U.S. citizens.

Frederica Freyberg:
And so if someone is at their place of work or on the street or in their car, and they are approached by ICE agents, is it your recommendation that they ask to see a judicial warrant?

Sylvia Ortiz-Velez:
Absolutely. It is the law that I know it to be for more than a couple hundred years. Everyone has the right, regardless if it’s a state actor or a local, county, city, or federal actor, to be protected against illegal searches and seizures.

Frederica Freyberg:
How confusing are the enforcements for people who are in the U.S. under all kinds of different methods, you know, like temporary protected status or awaiting an immigration hearing?

Sylvia Ortiz-Velez:
It’s really complex because things are changing every day. Some people who felt they were pretty safe in their immigration status, people who already have a legal path, have had a legal pathway, feel that that could be at jeopardy. So there’s a lot of fear as well for people who are permanent residents, people who have legal statuses, TPS statuses. They’re changing every day. They’re being removed. And people thought they were safe. So there’s a lot of unknowns and things are changing all the time. And quite frankly, it’s causing quite a bit of chaos. I think what Wisconsin needs to focus on is Wisconsin, and we need to take care of Wisconsinites. I don’t believe we should allow the federal government to come in and violate our state constitution. I expect them to follow the law. And not do any illegal searches and seizures. And quite frankly, it’s a slippery slope. You allow them to do seizures, illegal searches and seizures here. You know, where else does that go?

Frederica Freyberg:
And so literally in where you live, there are people who are not leaving their homes, not going to school?

Sylvia Ortiz-Velez:
So I was at an event yesterday in my community, and there were — I noticed there were a lot of people there that would normally have been there, and they weren’t. And it’s unfortunate because people are staying at home. People are scared that they’re not going to come back home. There are people who are afraid that they’re going to lose their homes because, you know, we literally created a way for people to buy homes that were undocumented. And they have made investments. But more importantly, we’re hoping that people get prepared so that they have a way for someone to pick up their kids at school. I guess the worst story I’ve heard so far is a 13-year-old girl, a citizen in my district. She’s been dealing with cancer for the last five years, since the age of eight, and both of her parents are undocumented. Her mother takes care of her every single day because she needs medical attention all the time. Her father works, and there might be a time that they’re going to have to decide whether or not they leave their daughter here, and she passes away without her parents, or if they take her to Mexico and she doesn’t get the treatment she needs. But at least they’ll — she’ll be able to die there with her parents surrounding her.

Frederica Freyberg:
Representative Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, thanks very much.

Sylvia Ortiz-Velez:
Thank you.