Professor Armando Ibarra’s research focuses on immigration and labor education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Regarding President-elect Donald Trump’s plan for mass deportation, Ibarra is alarmed. He’s concerned for the families, including American-born children who face the fear of losing a parent to deportation. But he’s also worried for society as a whole.
“What does it mean for us as a country if we're able to again enter into language that basically says that these people are not like us?” Ibarra said. “They're lesser than, they're not as human as we are, and we're going to round them up, we're going to detain them, and we're going to deport them without, with, without any regard to their humanity.”
He said Latin American undocumented workers don’t play a marginalized role in the economy, but are central to it, especially in Wisconsin.
Ibarra co-authored a study with the university and Legal Action Wisconsin that found an estimated 70% of the dairy farm labor force are undocumented workers.
“What you have here is almost an open secret that everybody knows,” he said, “including industry owners, that they have large percentages of undocumented workers.”
Besides the dairy industry, he said agriculture and meat processing plants rely on the labor of undocumented workers.
For now, there’s a lot of speculation as to how Trump may execute his deportation plan. At the local level immigrant and worker advocacy organizations are hosting "know your rights" trainings in the event that folks come into contact with immigration officials.
And true to Wisconsin’s reputation as a battleground state, fights are brewing over protections for undocumented workers.
Voces de La Frontera is one of the groups calling for immigrant rights at the state level. Ibarra sits on its board.
“It's a multi racial, multiethnic, multi-generational pushback movement that's happening here in Wisconsin,” he said, “and I'm sure it's happening across the country as well.”
He said while the Badger State has not adopted anti-immigrant laws such as those seen in Texas, it does allow for counties to make contractual agreements with immigration agencies. And currently there are seven counties that do so.
Driver’s License
One major push is reinstating the ability for undocumented residents to apply for driver's license in Wisconsin.
Mario Ramirez leads that campaign for Voces de La Frontera.
“More than ever, folks are pushing strongly for it, including employers,” he said. “Due to citations for driving without a license, many folks are being deported, and children are left without a parent.”
In Wisconsin, after several tickets for driving without a license, it rises to an arrestable offense. That puts undocumented workers at risk of facing deportation proceedings depending on the county in which they are arrested.
Ramirez said undocumented workers need a license and the ability to drive and get around like everyone else, especially in rural areas where public transportation is not available.
"They need a license to drive to work, take their kids to schools, to doctor visits,” he said, “an infinite number of reasons. And many say the streets were safer then, when folks could apply for a license.”
But there’s opposition from Republicans in the Wisconsin statehouse. They argue undocumented residents will use a driver's license to vote. That's a familiar argument pushed by then-candidate Trump, which research finds to be unfounded.
“They wouldn’t use it to vote,” Ramirez said. “They simply want a license to drive without concern that they're breaking an infraction.”
Ramirez said the political map makes it difficult to pass legislation with Republican control of the state legislature, but with new redistricting maps, there’s hope. They also have the support of Democratic Governor Tony Evers.
19 states including Illinois allow undocumented residents to apply for a driver's license.
