On Sept. 21 in Laun 209, students and faculty listened as Voces de la Frontera member Cendi Tena spoke in support of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

“I was not able to win the fight to keep my brother here, so I want to work to help others be able to keep their loved ones,” Tena said.

Voces de la Frontera is a Milwaukee nonprofit focused on immigrant rights. Tena spoke about her organization and what DACA means to families not only at Lakeland itself but across the country.

On Sept. 5, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the end of DACA, a policy that provided people who entered the country illegally as children with deferred action. On Sept. 6, Lakeland President David Black denounced Trump’s decision in a mass email to all Lakeland students and faculty.

“The Trump administration’s decision to end the DACA program, announced Tuesday, is a matter of grave concern to our colleagues in higher education as well as many Americans in all walks of life,” Black said.

DACA was not the only topic Tena discussed in her lecture. Tena believes that the recent Wisconsin Assembly Bill 190 (AB190) would allow employers, teachers and other people in similar high positions to demand any employee they suspect of being an illegal immigrant to present their papers. Upon failure to do so, the employees would be threatened with deportation.

Tena encouraged students and faculty to support immigrated students and their families by becoming more familiar with DACA. Tena also stated there will be a public hearing for AB190 on Sept. 27 in Madison, Wis. and encouraged students and faculty alike to vote against the bill.