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U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement document
Milwaukee County leaders have formed a coalition taking a stand against a proposed ICE (U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement) detention facility at 11925 W. Lake Park Drive. If built, the facility would replace the existing ICE location located downtown at 1015 N. 10th Street, near Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) campus.
County Supervisors Juan Miguel Martinez, Caroline Gomez-Tom, Sequanna Taylor, Justin Bielinski, Anne O’Connor, Sky Z. Capriolo, Jack Eckblad, Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson and second vice chair Priscilla E. Coggs-Jones have all signed onto this coalition.
“This is not just a building; it represents a system that thrives on fear and perpetuates the suffering of families who are the backbone of our community,” they said in a statement. “Building a facility designed to detain and deport these individuals is a direct attack on Milwaukee County’s values and priorities. It is unconscionable to support a facility that profits from tearing families apart and turning human lives into commodities.”
Know Your Rights
Supervisor Martinez adds, “We’re letting the community know that we are here to have their backs and assist them, and that we are participating in “Know Your Rights” trainings and having meetings against the demonization of immigrants and mass deportations.”
Alderwoman Laressa Taylor of Milwaukee’s 9th District said in a press release that she was alarmed by this proposal and that she did not support the Department of Homeland Security moving into her district. She held a press conference outside of the proposed location on January 15, joined by several hundred community members, including Voces de la Frontera and Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression.
Although the city is saying that the proposed facility would only be used for processing and not detention, the coalition is keeping an eye on the project, as ICE facilities are run by private companies, and the federal government will not necessarily abide by city laws. “If they want to build there then they’re going to build there,” Martinez says. “That’s what’s disheartening about it.”
However, he affirms that elected officials must do what they can to fight the proposal and that community members can help, noting, “It’s very important that folks get with groups like Comite Sin Fronteras, or support their local Latino-run union like LCLAA.”
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Economic Benefits
According to the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), undocumented immigrants contributed over $96 billion in state, local and federal taxes in 2022. More than a third of these taxes paid went towards programs that undocumented immigrants are unable to access. In over 40 states, undocumented immigrants pay higher state and local taxes than the top one percent of households.
Despite such facts, undocumented immigrants cannot vote, collect state assistance or access food stamps. “They do not qualify for all these things that people say they are leeching from the government when they’re not,” Martinez states.
He continues, “I don’t care what a person contributes economically. People are people, and people need to be respected and able to live a life of dignity without seeing what it is they contribute monetarily.”
Martinez plans to create a rideshare program with Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) so that more immigrants can get to and from work without threats of being stopped by law enforcement. “This is less a fight against ICE, and more a fight to protect our most vulnerable populations,” he concludes. “We’re not numbers. We are not an issue. We need to remember our humanity.”