Thousands of people from across Wisconsin marched Monday in Milwaukee as part of a nationwide day of resistance against President Donald Trump administration’s immigration policies and Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke.
Protesters stand on the steps of the Milwaukee County Courthouse. They called for Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke to step down or be removed from office. Ross Terrell/WPR
The march was organized by Milwaukee immigration advocacy group Voces de la Frontera and other organizations.
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Marchers were calling for Gov. Scott Walker to remove Sheriff Clarke. Clarke has been under fire since activating his deputies as federal immigration enforcement agents.
Jacob Flom, is a member of the Milwaukee Coalition Against Trump, a grass roots organization that aims to resist policies from the Trump administration. Flom said Clarke must continue to be met with resistance.
“He’s divisive,” Flom said. “He’s trying to drive the undocumented community back into the shadows, and I think that the community made a statement here today saying, ‘No way,’ they’re not going to go back into the shadows. We’re going to stand up and fight until Clarke is out of here.”
Voces de la Frontera executive director, Christine Neumann-Ortiz, said marches and actions were taking place in hundreds of cities Monday, with many organizations endorsing the call for a general strike led by immigrants and workers.
The marchers were also calling for Walker to block Trump’s order to halt funding for “sanctuary cities” and to allow immigrants living in the state illegally to have driver’s licenses.
Katia Sustayta, a Milwaukee resident who marched, said it’s important for the community to continue to resist anti-immigrant attacks.
“This is something that isn’t going to be fixed in a matter of a short time,” she said. “It’s important that little kids who grew up like I did see this. Then as they grow older, they can teach their kids that’s it something, that immigrant rights are something that has to be fought for not just once a year or twice a year, but it’s a daily fight.”
Last week, Voces de la Frontera delivered a petition with what it said were 10,000 signatures to Walker asking for him to remove Clarke.
Voces de la Frontera said tens of thousands went on strike and withdrew children from school in Wisconsin while more than 140 businesses closed to join the march in Milwaukee.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 5:15 p.m. Monday, May 1 to include original reporting from WPR.
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