Why this Wisconsin Latino activist is worried about President Trump's executive orders

Migrants sit on a military aircraft at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Tx., Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, awaiting their deportation to Guatemala. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)

By Salina Heller

February 6, 2025

Immigrants and citizens alike are worried about the fear being caused in the community, as mass deportation raids disrupt lives and the economy.

Hispanic Americans have lived in Wisconsin since before it became a state, but the largest wave of migration came during and after World War II, when there was a big demand for food and a simultaneous shortage of labor, which resulted in a demand for agricultural workers, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society. Government programs permitted employers to hire foreign workers to work in the fields, and between 1942 and 1964, millions of Mexican farm laborers came to the state.

Today, there are more than 447,000 Hispanic Latinos in Wisconsin, making up the state’s largest minority group. Mexicans are the largest Spanish-speaking group in Wisconsin. Mexicans arriving since the 1950s have found an established community to settle into, particularly in Milwaukee. Wisconsin is also home to political refugees and other immigrants from Cuba, El Salvador, Colombia, Nicaragua, and other countries.”

There is no aspect of a person’s life that is unaffected by the labor of immigrants,” said Eau Claire community activist Mireya Sigala.

Sigala said new immigration and funding policies are unsettling. Trump’s mass deportation plans are inciting fear among immigrants throughout Wisconsin who are concerned about members of their communities being separated from friends, family members, and coworkers.

There are several other orders affecting the population, including Trump’s plans to revoke orders by President Joe Biden regarding educational and economic opportunities for Latinos.

The purpose of the measures was to reduce the inequalities in education and promote economic opportunities for this population.

Sigala said “the Latino community is a vital component of this nation.”

Statement by Mireya Sigala, Community Activist

The Latino community, particularly our immigrant population, is a vital component of this nation. Our indigenous origins are inextricably linked to this land, unbreakable by treaties, land contracts, or invisible borders.

We are proud of our history and contributions, which have had a tremendous influence on the lives of everyone in this nation and abroad. We will not apologize for openly expressing pride in our background, ethnicity, or nationality. The loud music, the festivities, the flags, the parades, and all of the amazing cuisine represent our love for ourselves, which we gladly share with you to enjoy. Waving our national flags or speaking our native language is us embracing the privileges and rights that this country has afforded us that we may not have had previously. For some of us, it may be the only connection we have to our former homelands—places where we may never be able to return.

We recognize that we have a great responsibility to the nation that has welcomed us and provided us with so many opportunities. Our actions reflect our dedication to making this country our home.

There is no aspect of a person’s life that is unaffected by the labor of immigrants, particularly our undocumented community. The work ethic we have is unparalleled, even as we work under situations that many people would not be able to endure.

While we have no control over where we are born, we will speak our truth and refuse to let others build a narrative about us. There is no rhetoric that will prevent us from continuing to demonstrate the attributes that we are honest, sincere, and hard-working people. We are not illegal—each of us is a person who deserves to be treated with decency and respect.

We ask for an opportunity, not a handout-opportunity that was given to the first immigrant of each American family that came before us. The same opportunities that our children born on this land are constitutionally entitled to.

We acknowledge the tribal nations of this country as the original nations, and their citizenship is unquestionable. We stand for justice, equality, human rights, and decency, and we oppose anything or anybody that seeks to undermine these values. And when this war waged on our community is over, we will move forward and continue picking up the pieces.

We will rise, as we have done again and again, to establish a stronger, more unified community.

Author

Salina Heller

A former 15-year veteran of reporting local news for western Wisconsin TV and radio stations, Salina Heller also volunteers in community theater, helps organize the Chippewa Valley Air Show, and is kept busy by her daughter’s elementary school PTA meetings. She is a UW-Eau Claire alum.

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