 and welcome to legislative updates. I am so thrilled to be here. My name is Neneth Bulabash. I've been co-hosting this show for a couple months with Jim Baumgart, my good friend. He's been co-hosting this show, or hosting it for quite a long time. 20 years. 20 years, quite a few programs. So it's thrilled. We're here on the WSCS. But we're really thrilled by our guest. We're very thrilled to have our guest today, Jennifer Estrada, who is a statewide organizer for Voces de la Frontera, and which is a wonderful name. Which means Voces of the Frontier? Of the border, yeah. Voces of the border. Okay, so tell us about your organization. What do you do? You are in Sheboygan. You're all throughout the state. We are throughout the state. We have 11 chapters. We do have offices in our main offices in Milwaukee. We do have one in Madison. And we just, we'll be opening one on Friday. We just had a fundraiser for that. So that's pretty exciting. And we are in the works of having one here in Sheboygan. I'm so excited about that. That is thrilled. Because you have a growing member. You said you're growing fast. We are growing actually on a faster rate than we know what to keep up with. We last year were, we were about three. Three chapters with two offices. And now we are up to 11 chapters. Wow. And just growing at an amazing rate. So that's good. And it's not just immigrants. We have so many allies, so many Anglos that just want to be a part of a growing organization. I want to be here to protect and uplift our community, our whole community. Well, nobody likes to see families being broken apart and torn apart. And I mean, it almost brings tears to somebody's eyes when you know that, I mean, in your case, your husband was sent back. You have five children born. Five daughters. And since 2012, your husband of 16 years has been in Mexico. Correct. They took him. Yes. And he has a bar. So it would take 10 years before he could even try to reapply. And of course, because the system is so backlogged, they're doing family-based visas. We would be a little bit higher because husband to wife and wife to husband processes a little bit faster. But because he has been deported, I mean, he would probably be at the bottom of the barrel. Right now I know they're doing family-based visas and they're processing from December of 1997. So they're a little bit backlogged. Let me be the devil's advocate here. I'll try to think like someone who voted for our current president, which is hard for me. But I guess the argument that I always hear is, well, if you want to come into this country, why don't you come legally like all good people? My grandparents came legally. What's wrong with that? Why not follow the law? And that's a touchy subject with a lot of people. I think when you're ignorant to the fact of how the immigration system works, that's a great argument. But once you actually get the knowledge on how the immigration system works, then you tend to understand and your heart gets a little bit open. And then if you visit to some of these countries that you're not going to the tourist areas, you understand a little bit more. I won't go totally into detail on the visas, but if you're a husband or a wife of a US citizen, it's a little bit easier to apply. Obviously that's not gonna help you if you're on the other side to apply to come here. So it'd be something that either you met over there in your country or you're here already. Then it's a little bit easier to apply and it takes about, with a very good lawyer, it takes about 18 months to 19 months before you become a legal permanent resident. That doesn't make you a citizen, that just makes you a resident. But the other visas that are available, the V visa, the T visa, the U visa, the VAWA, you have to be a victim of a crime. So welcome to America. And if you're a victim of a crime, there's a visa available for you. If not, and you're not a married to a US citizen. So if you have two undocumented people here that just simply wanna make a better life for their children, there is no visa available for you. I don't think people understand just how hard it is. Nor do people understand how crucial, how vital immigrants are to Wisconsin's economy, growth, lifestyle, health. I'm holding this button that you gave. Got milk, we all know that campaign with bread farmed with the white mustache. Got milk, not without immigrants. Tell us about that. Well, I mean, we started that campaign with Voces de la Frontera for the simple fact. When, before I started as an actual statewide organizer with Voces, I was just a community volunteer organizer. We live with our volunteers. Our volunteers are our backbone because without them we wouldn't be as big as we are. But as a volunteer, I went around Manitowoc County where I live, which makes up 13% of the dairy production for the state. But on those dairy farms, 89% of the workforce are undocumented immigrants. So yeah, we're the dairy state, but on the backs of who? Without them, the dairy farms would be in deep trouble. Yes, correct. So if ICE, this organization were to cut the Immigration Customs Enforcement, if they were to come into one of these farms in Manitowoc County or Calumet County or Kiwani County, they could take these people and then the farmer is like, oh, I have no workers. Correct. And I think that's why I go around the state and I do know your rights workshops, not only for the immigrant community, but I try to also give the knowledge to some of the dairy owners, some of the business owners that, even though they come in, make sure that they have the correct paperwork when they're looking for your workers. Make sure that they have the correct warrants. I make them sure I know what that looks like. And this is still your private property. As a dairy farmer, this is your private property. You do not have to allow them to come onto your property and then raid your property and take your workers. The sad part is, you know, you can hear everywhere in the media, especially now with the new administration about we're getting rid of criminals on a daily basis. I am, in fact, today, later on today, I have to deal with one here in Treboygan of a guy who just simply didn't have a driver's license and he got taken in and then is then treated like a criminal and then got turned over to ICE. So not having a license makes you a criminal, but they say, well, why don't they get a license? Well, in 2009, they took away that right. Immigrants aren't allowed to have a license. So, and now in 2015, they changed the law again, so two driving without a license charge makes it a state charge. So you're changing the laws to make criminals to make it look like you're getting rid of criminals. So you can simply be deported for driving without a license. In my eyes, that's not a criminal. And especially when you cannot get a license. You can't get one. And I think some of the research that's been done is that, by and large, the immigrants are just hardworking people that are not criminals. And the indication that they are is just false. Yes, false news, I guess. Very false, fake news. And that's why in our organization, we help fight against some of the legislation that they were trying to pass, like SB 275 AB 190, which was the state, they wanted to make it a law, like the 287G program, the Show Me Your Papers, they wanted to make it a law in Wisconsin. And thanks to Vos De La Frontera, all of our amazing volunteers and members, we were able to stop it in 2016 and we were again able to stop it again last year. And in Sheboygan. And in Sheboygan, we had raised 200. And we crowded into, 500 people crowded into City Hall and they voted, what, 16 to one? 16 to one? Against this, because we are humane in Sheboygan. But unfortunately in Waukesha, it was passed. Yeah, and they, for the last two years, they have introduced this as a state level. And our, we've been able to stop it two years in a row with all the amazing people that we have. And your daughter testified against it. She did, yes, it was amazing. And that's why in May 1st, we're inviting everybody to march along with us in Waukesha. It is our day without Latinos and immigrants. We invite everybody, not only to become a part of the Vos's organization, you can find us at vdlf.org or any one of our Facebooks. We do have a Sheboygan, Vos's Facebook, Green Bay, Milwaukee. Join us in the fight. May 1st, we will be marching in Waukesha, not only against 287G, but exactly what you said, Jim, about having that economic impact. We are asking for a boycott from all of our immigrant communities, no work, no buying, no school. They will definitely see the impact that immigrants have on our state. So if we went on May 1st, we could not drink milk or we could boycott, I mean, how? Well, I mean, you got to figure out our buying power and it's not just the milk. I mean, they contribute so much. I mean, Walmart, they contribute just like you and I, right? So if you take them out and say, hey, for this day, don't shop, don't go to school, and don't go to work, it's gonna have an economic impact. We had, I think it was a little over 40,000 people with us marching last year. 40,000. 40,000. And now because we're in a totally different state where they're actually implementing some of these anti-immigrant laws and programs, we're at a more dire need. So we need everybody to kind of stand up. And like you said, you know, why would you not want to stand up for your neighbor? Yeah. Why would you, yeah. So what is it, we're running out of time, I guess. What would you want people to know? What have we not covered yet about either your organization or immigrants in Wisconsin? Or how can you join? Yeah, I guess, if you would like to join, you can go to vdlf.org and join online. But I would ask everybody in the state to be a part of your chapter, be a part of your community. Cause we not only go against these big state bills and these programs that are coming into effect, we fully want those, our immigrants in our community to feel integrated, to feel important as they are in our community and get involved in community events. And so become a part of the different city-wide organizations that we have, the chapters of VOSSAS. Like we have one here in Treboygan. So anybody here in Treboygan watching that wants to become a part of VOSSAS, you can go to the VOSSAS de la Frontera chapter, Treboygan chapter, find out on Facebook. Where do you meet? We will actually be having a community forum on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at the Ranchito Mexican restaurant on Indiana. So everybody that wants to join us will actually be able to vote on the decision-making for May 1st and get a real feel for what was happening in our state this last year and see an amazing video that VOSSAS had put together on all the defeats that we had, all the gains that we've made this year and defeating like Clark and things that you don't know that's happening in the state that we've done. And tell us your youth program. Youth, yes, it's called yes, right? Yes. And that stands for? Youth Empowered in the Struggle. Yeah, Youth Empowered in the Struggle, that's how I saw your daughter. She spoke at the Unity March in January. She was very articulate. She talked about graduating high school and her father will not be able to see her. And I think it's really, really important to educate our youth, let them know that not only what's going on in their community, what's going on at state level, and then have them involved. And it's all about having, I mean, they're our future, right? So it's important for them to know exactly what's going on and how they can affect and impact the changes in their own community, even though they may think that they don't have a voice, it's time for us as adults to give them a voice. I think that's very well said. I think we were seeing that on many issues. And so we want to hear from those young people. Yes, we do. No, I think the key is the people working together, families, communities, and you're going in the right direction. And I'm so glad you're here. Thank you for inviting me. People have to have a heart. And I think most people in Sheboygan supports you. We've seen that in the rallies. We've seen those crowds. It's a wonderful thing. Sheboygan is wonderful. And that's because of your community and the work you're doing. Thank you. Thank you. So thank you, everyone. Thank you. Please check out their websites. Thank you for joining us. See you next time. Well, thank you. To Dutton. Yeah, to Dutton. Thank you.