Milwaukee, WI — Like activists and organizers across the country, 2017 was a tremendously busy year for those in the immigrant rights struggle of Milwaukee, and the closing months were no exception.

Resist deportations and continue fight for legalization for all

Minneapolis, MN – On Jan. 8, President Trump announced the end of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for around 200,000 Salvadorans living in the United States. TPS for Salvadorans will be phased out in 18 months. This comes after Trump has already ended TPS for Haitians and Nicaraguans, and soon Hondurans will almost surely lose TPS as well. While the loss of TPS for any country is an injustice, the number of Salvadorans with TPS is more than all other nationalities combined.

Minneapolis, MN – On the day after Christmas, Dec. 26, a group of activists from the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) brought day-late gift-wrapped ‘presents’ and a Christmas tree to the Minneapolis office of Senator Amy Klobuchar emblazoned with messages of “Clean Dream Act now,” “Keep families together” and “No more deportations.”

Washington D.C. – On Dec. 15, seven undocumented immigrant youth, now referred to as the #Dream7, risked deportation by staging a sit-in outside of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office in the Capitol building, as part of a wave of protests demanding that Congress pass a clean Dream Act now.

Tucson, AZ – On Dec. 7, community organizations and residents held a vigil in downtown Tucson in honor and remembrance of a Central American migrant killed by Border Patrol the week before. On Nov. 29, Border Patrol agents in the Baboquivari Mountains of the Tohono O’odham nation, located just southwest of Tucson, Arizona shot to death one of four migrants said to be from Guatemala. The others were detained.

Minneapolis, MN – Over 150 people marched on International Human Rights day, Dec. 10, in south Minneapolis demanding an end to Trump’s wars and his administration’s attacks on immigrants. The Anti-War Committee and the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee co-sponsored the community march, which started at Powderhorn Park.

Minneapolis, MN – The Anti-War Committee and the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) are co-sponsoring a community march on International Human Rights Day to show solidarity with the communities whose human rights have been violated by the Trump administration. Protesters will rally in Powderhorn Park, Minneapolis, Dec. 10, at 11 a.m. and will then march on Lake Street past hundreds of immigrant-owned businesses to say “No ban, no wall, sanctuary for all!”

New York, NY – On Nov. 28 in Brooklyn, at around noon, lawyers staged a massive walkout when the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) grabbed a defendant from the hallway midway through a court hearing.

Minneapolis, MN – El 10 de noviembre del 2017, casi 500 estudiantes de 17 escuelas locales salieron de sus escuelas en la mañana enfrentando un frío brutal y tomaron las calles para exigir que el Congreso tome acción inmediata para proteger a cientos de miles de jóvenes inmigrantes que perderán el estado legal que tanto lucharon para conseguir. Se juntaron en el parque de Martin Luther King, Jr. y marcharon más de dos millas a la estatua de Emiliano Zapata, simbolizando la unidad de las luchas de los estudiantes afroamericanos y latinos.

Minneapolis, MN – On Nov. 10, around 500 students from 17 local high schools and middle schools walked out of their schools and braved cold weather and bitter winds as they took to the streets to demand that Congress take immediate action to protect hundreds of thousands of immigrant youth who will be stripped of their hard fought-for legal status. They converged at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park and marched over two miles to the memorial of Emiliano Zapata, symbolizing the unity of the struggles of Black and Latino students.