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“A Day Without Latinos”: Massive Crowd Of 20,000 Floods Wisconsin Capitol To Protest Anti-Immigrant Legislation

by Gabe Ortiz on

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After Pope Francis vs. Donald Trump yesterday, chances are you might have missed this incredible news coming out of Wisconsin.

An estimated 20,000 Latinos, immigrants, and their allies from across the state walked out of their jobs and schools to mobilize against two anti-immigrant bills now sitting in the state legislature.

Immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera dubbed the action “A Day Without Latinos,” and organizers and activists wanted to show state leaders the harmful effects these bills could have on Wisconsin’s local economy, including the state’s dairy industry.

The activists received support from local businesses, many of which closed their doors to allow employees to attend the event in solidarity.

“Milwaukee’s largest Mexican grocery store chain El Rey hasn’t closed any of its stores in 38 years, not even for holidays. But Thursday it will close its factory, warehouse and four grocery stores so its 400 workers can rally at the state Capitol,” reported WKOW.

From Fusion:

Part of the reason the state’s “Day Without Latinos” is so important is because it will “let people know how much Latinos contribute to this state,” said Luz Sosa, a University professor at the Milwaukee Area Technical College, and organizer with Citizen Action of Wisconsin, a progressive activist group.

“We’re not going to stand by and be discriminated against and have our rights trampled on,” she told Fusion while en route to the capitol building from Milwaukee.

Wisconsin isn’t traditionally associated with immigration politics or known for its Latino population, it is an important swing state in the general election, and what happened yesterday in the state showcases the new and changing American electorate that the Republican field has been eager to ignore.