Protesters gather in 2018 to speak out against ICE.
The story is becoming all too common for Kenosha resident Stephanie Mitchell. First, Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Ricardo Fierro, a well-known Racine activist who has led the Racine branch of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Now, four more Racine men were taken by ICE in one morning right outside of their homes.
“I wish I could say I was surprised,” said Mitchell. “But I’m not.”
A protest was held Wednesday afternoon in Racine, near where the men were taken on Rapids Drive, across the street from Horlick High School. Witnesses said the men were followed and arrested following a similar pattern taken by ICE agents when detaining Fierro just weeks earlier, according to a press release by the Racine Interfaith Coalition.
More than 100 supporters came to the protest, as multiple Racine men have been taken into custody in the past few weeks.
“How many more are going to be separated from their families,” said Linda Boyle, Co-President of the Racine Interfaith Coalition. “How many families are going to be broken? I want it to stop.”
Racine’s Common Council passed a resolution Monday opposing the deportation of Fierro. Fierro, who has seven children, is also a member of the Racine Interfaith Coalition and has been active in the Racine community for nearly 20 years. A march was held in honor of Fierro last week, as many Racine leaders and elected officials have written letters to show support for him.
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Protestors also demanded the return of Ricardo Fierro, a Racine community activist who was taken by ICE two weeks ago.
The son of one of the men who was detained Tuesday said ICE agents were not even looking for his father when he was detained. He said his father has had a job and lived in Racine for more than 20 years. He feels that ICE agents targeted him and his family.
“My dad is not a criminal. He is a hardworking man, he cares for us,” said Christian Ruiz, who is a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient. “I feel helpless mostly...we are not here to hurt anybody.”
Ruiz’s father, Elpidio Ruiz Hernandez, is currently being held at the Dodge Detention Facility in Juneau, Wis. Ruiz said that he has hired a lawyer and is doing the best he can to get his father back. Ruiz also said, and court records confirm this—that his father has only received citations for driving without a license.
Some protestors came from as far as Milwaukee for the protest, which began near the location where the men were detained Tuesday.
It was originally thought that only three men were detained Tuesday, but that was corrected by Boyle at the protest. Boyle helped organize the protest and has been in close contact with the family of Ricardo Fierro.
“We think ICE is targeting Racine,” she said to more than 100 protestors who came to show support for the families of the men who were taken. “We are here today to tell Immigration and Customs Enforcement to get out of our community and stop picking up our people. They are not criminals. The best use of law enforcement is to pick up criminals and drug offenders. Not our upstanding community members.”
ICE officials were contacted for comment on this story, but they said they needed more time to research the case. “ICE conducts thousands of arrests nationwide every day,” an ICE spokesperson said.
