“Wisconsin is not Arizona” — Milwaukee protests SB1070

A small but emphatic crowd turned out for Thursday’s march against Arizona’s SB1070 in Ziedler Park as part of a national day of protest against the state’s controversial  immigration bill.

On Wednesday, U.S. Distric Judge Susan Bolton issued a temporary injunction to block a number of key portions of the bill, including criminalizing failure to carry alien registration documents at all times, requiring that police check the immigration status during investigations, and making warrantless arrests of suspected illegal immigrants.

On Thursday, Arizona governor Jan Brewer stated that she would appeal the ruling.

In Milwaukee, some are still concerned about the sheriff’s department’s official policies on dealing with illegal immigrants. Sparked by anecdotal evidence from Voces de la Frontera citing that undocumented workers had been deported or were awaiting deportation for minor offenses, many of the protesters called upon Sheriff David Clarke for answers about his department’s alleged use of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Preliminary Arraignment Reporting System (PARS).

The protest stepped off at 11 a.m. and continued through downtown. It was organized by Voces de la Frontera, Students for a Democratic Society, Milwaukee Youth Empowered in the Struggle (YES) and student leaders from Mecha chapters in Milwaukee and Madison.