While GOP Bristles, Immigrants React To Obama’s Reforms With Praise, Hope

While Wisconsin Republicans in Congress say President Barack Obama’s new immigration plan will hurt the chances for a longer-term immigration bill, immigrants and immigrant advocacy groups say that shouldn’t be so. They’re largely applauding Obama’s action — though some are skeptical of the new protections.

Sen. Ron Johnson is about to take over as chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The first-term Republican said that in Thursday night’s speech, Obama should have just focused on improving border security and helping highly skilled immigrants stay in the U.S., and not ease deportation concerns for about 4 million undocumented residents.

“I want to solve this problem,” he said. “But he’s just made that task all that more difficult, so it’s very unfortunate.”

Fellow Republican U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, who is the incoming chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said the president has poisoned the well on what should be a bipartisan effort on immigration.

However, that’s not how a coalition of groups that spoke on Friday at Milwaukee City Hall sees it. Ana Garcia-Ashley is with the Gamaliel Network, a community and faith organization. She said that Obama has not stopped the political process.

“I don’t think that anybody can convince me that helping 4 million people can stop Johnson and Ryan from going to Washington and doing their job,” said Garcia-Ashley. “I say, do your job … and if there’s anybody stopping you from doing your job, come to us.”

The League of United Latin American Citizens says there were plenty of border security improvements in a bipartisan bill passed last year by the Senate. That bill never made it through the GOP-controlled House.

In the western Wisconsin community of Sparta on Friday morning, a group of Mexican immigrants gathered at Lugar de Reunión, a Hispanic resource center. The immigration statuses of the people within the group were varied, as were the kinds of work they do. In southwest Wisconsin, a number of dairy farms and meat processing facilities rely heavily on immigrant work.

Sitting on a leather couch near the entryway was Ramiro, who did not want to give his last name because he’s an undocumented immigrant. He works seven days a week, day and night at a dairy farm in the Sparta area.

“I milk cows, I clean the cows, I feed them. I wash machines. Whatever’s needed at the farm,” he said.

Ramiro said it’s hard work that many Americans don’t want to do. He moved to Wisconsin from Mexico City for the job 15 years ago looking for a better life.

“I moved (to) the United States because I’m looking for a better life,” he said. “I’m looking for a chance to maybe … get my papers. Because I’m a good person, a hard worker.”

Under Obama’s actions, millions of deportations will be waived for a few years for parents of U.S. citizens who have been in the country more than five years. Ramiro fits these standards: He has a 7-year-old son who was born here. But he’s still skeptical that the protections will apply to him.

Lugar de Reunión Director Alfonso Sanchez said Obama’s actions are a great start and may help some immigrants living in the area. Nevertheless, he said, it’s not enough.

“A lot of people work here hard, but they are single. I know a lot of people are good people, hard workers. Right now they don’t have any inclusion in this proposal,” said Sanchez.

Sanchez said he’s still sorting through what exactly the actions mean for community members. He said he’ll be working with attorneys in coming days so they can start getting people the protections they want.

At this point, there are no applications for immigrants to fill out if they think they qualify for deportation protections. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is even warning people to beware of scams in coming weeks. The agency will roll out more specific information in coming months and suggests people can start gathering identification and residency documents.

Sanchez said he’s still sorting through what exactly the actions mean for community members. He said he’ll be working with attorneys in coming days so they can start getting people the protections they want.

“We’ll start to work on this issue with immigration attorneys and people who can help us give information or provide resources for the Hispanic community,” he said.

On Saturday in Milwaukee, the group Voces de La Frontera is hosting a community forum at South Division High School at 11 a.m. to talk about the actions and what they mean.