Photo by Ben Slowey
MAAPRA Milwaukee Press Conference for Alejando Orellana
MAARPR holding a press conference on June 27, 2025
The Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression (MAARPR) held a press conference outside the Milwaukee Federal Courthouse on Friday, June 27, demanding that the FBI drop charges against Los Angeles activist Alejandro Orellana, who had been arrested by the FBI on June 12.
Orellana, a member of the Los Angeles-based, Chicano-led Centro CSO, faces charges for “conspiring to commit civil disorder” and “aiding and abetting civil disorders” during protests against the detaining and deporting of undocumented immigrants by Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE). According to Boyle Heights Beat, Orellana had allegedly been merely passing out water bottles and face shields to protestors, but the FBI raided Orellana’s home and took him into custody. The charges carry a sentence of up to five years in prison.
MAARPR organizer Julie Velazquez opened the conference by stating, “His arrest is a clear and egregious attack on the immigrants’ rights movement in LA, and its effects will ripple across the country. The Milwaukee Alliance stands firm that Alejandro did nothing wrong, and we demand that these charges be dropped immediately.”
Velazquez mentioned how detainments and deportations of immigrants in the U.S. are at an all-time high, as President Trump is following through on his campaign trail promises.
“The actions of Immigration & Customs Enforcement do not shock us,” she continued. “What has replaced that shock now is motivation to fight back.”
ICE Targets Milwaukee
Milwaukee has seen its own instances of ICE activity. Velazquez elaborated, “One by one they are detaining and deporting members of our communities, from demanding that a teacher self-deport, to arresting a dad while dropping off his kids at school. ICE knows exactly who and how to target to instill the most fear, but this will not stop us from making connections to communities, educating each other, and finding joy in resistance. We have to take those risks.”
Chris Van Valkenberg of Students for Democratic Society (SDS) UWM took the microphone next to touch on how college students protesting in solidarity with Palestine have also faced political repression. “One of our own SDS members was arrested by university police at 2 in the morning, 20 minutes away from campus.”
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On March 8, Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student and pro-Palestine activist, was arrested by ICE on grounds that he was a threat to U.S. foreign policy. After 104 days in detention, a judge found Khalil’s detainment unconstitutional and he was released on June 20.
An Injury to All
Van Valkenberg pointed out how every social justice movement has seen state repression of this nature before, citing the Kent State Massacre and the George Floyd uprisings as examples. “This is where solidarity between movements becomes crucial, from immigrant rights to Black Lives Matter to anti-war to the student movement. An injury to one is an injury to all.”
Heba Mohammad of Milwaukee 4 Palestine touched on the rapidly expanding national trend of police surveillance relative to free speech as well as civil and human rights. “We have already seen and will see more cases like Alejandro’s,” she affirmed. “This is apparent to me and others in the Palestine solidarity movement, because the way our movement is treated is often a canary in the coal mine for what’s to come in the collective struggle for liberation.”
Both MAARPR and Milwaukee 4 Palestine have been actively involved in efforts to prevent both the Milwaukee Police Department and the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office from acquiring Facial Recognition Technology (FRT), citing concerns of racial profiling, invasion of privacy and violation of free speech rights among others.
Alan Chavoya of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) concluded the press conference with the chant “When we fight / We win!” and recalled when FRSO had been attacked by the FBI for its solidarity work with Palestine, but it did not deter their work.
“We’re one out of almost 20 cities standing up with Alejandro today,” he proclaimed. “We’re proud to stand with Alejandro because what he did was not a crime, protecting his community from the terror of ICE, the National Guard and LAPD. That is not a crime.”
