(Milwaukee, August 25, 2025)— Currently, over half a million Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients await a legal decision regarding the fate of this program, which allows immigrants brought to the United States as children to attend university, work legally, and are protected from deportation. But DACA recipients and immigrant youth have been swept up in the growing enforcement efforts of the current administration. DHS has begun telling DACA recipients to leave the country voluntarily and has unlawfully arrested at least 14 DACA recipients across the country, with seven still in custody. Most recently, beloved community organizer and DACA recipient, Catalina “Xochitl” Santiago, was detained at an airport before boarding a domestic flight, despite presenting her valid work authorization. She and other DACA recipients remain in detention. These actions send a chilling message: even those with lawful protections are not safe. “The arrest of Cata Santiago is an attack on all DACA recipients,” stated Fernanda Jimenez-Hauch, a DACA recipient and member of Voce’s Comité Sin Fronteras, which is organizing community members to defend against federal law enforcements’ efforts to expand mass surveillance and illegal detentions across Wisconsin. Jimenez-Hauch emphasized, “When one of us is attacked, we are all under attack. A fight against one is a fight against us all. We will not take a single step back. We demand that Americans take notice and join us in the fight for the immediate release of Cata and all DACA recipients currently in ICE detention. Despite the broken promises, our dream will never die. This is our home, and we are here to stay.” Voces de la Frontera and Comité Sin Fronteras, a DACA recipient-led component of Voces de la Frontera, demand the immediate release of Cata, along with the other DACA recipients currently being detained in ICE facilities. Despite DHS assertions that they are targeting immigrants who have committed crimes, hundreds of people innocent of any crime are being swept up in the violent raids targeting immigrant communities, many of them children and youth. Thousands of people guilty only of seeking harbor in the United States now languish in dangerous ICE detention facilities. “Like Cata, many individuals have been targeted for their work in organizing for immigrant rights,” said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Executive Director of Voces de la Frontera. She added, “It is despicable that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) seeks to make an example of a courageous organizer like Cata to intimidate the broader community. Raised by farmworkers and having grown up working the fields of South Florida, Cata has dedicated her life to improving her community. Her detention, along with that of other DACA recipients, is both unlawful and unconstitutional, violating their rights to free speech, free assembly, and due process.” ADVISORY
WHEN: Wednesday, August 27, 12:00 | Noon WHERE: Voces de la Frontera Office, 733 West Historic Mitchell Street,
Milwaukee
DETAILS:The current administration is on track to accomplish the deadliest year in immigration detention ever. Any amount of time spent in detention is a threat to wellbeing and life, which is why we make the urgent demand that Xóchitl be released. Others at the facility have reported unsafe conditions including no drinkable water, no medical attention, and visitation restricted to only one day of the week. Speakers include:
– Fernanda Jimenez-Hauch, DACA recipient and member of Comité Sin Fronteras
– Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Executive Director of Voces de la Frontera
About Voces de la Frontera Voces de la Frontera is a membership-based community organization led by low-wage workers, immigrants, and youth whose mission is to protect and expand civil rights and workers’ rights through leadership development, community organizing, and empowerment.
About Comité Sin FronterasComité Sin Fronteras provides a platform for DACA recipients and undocumented young adult immigrants to organize for their futures and those of their families in the United States. For more information about Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and its significance in Wisconsin, please refer to the KidsForward report: DACA Recipients in Wisconsin.
