At a community forum in Madison last week, the founding executive director of Voces de la Frontera and other panelists warned residents to prepare for more immigration enforcement as seen elsewhere in the country…Neumann-Ortiz was joined at the forum by Aissa Olivarez, an attorney for the Community Immigration Law Center, and Armando Ibarra, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor who studies social movements, labor migration and more.
“The reality is immigrants work,” Ibarra said. “They make assets. They start businesses. They volunteer for their communities and adopt our civic values.”
Ibarra cited census estimates showing immigrants make up 9% of the county’s population. He said 72% of the county’s immigrants participate in the labor force, compared with 70% of the county’s native-born population.
“This shows us that immigrants are not on the sidelines. They are right at the center of economic activity, often working harder and longer to sustain themselves and their families,” Ibarra said.
The Cap Times | Dane County immigrants should prepare for ICE, panelists say