(Photo: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
Immigrant rights groups sounded the alarm after seven people were arrested by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Madison Thursday morning, in what is being called a targeted action by the federal agency. Voces de la Frontera, a Milwaukee-based immigrant advocacy organization, said that calls flowed into their hotline around 10:30 Thursday morning, Madison365 reported, and that organizers are attempting to determine why the people were detained. Voces is working with Centro Hispano, a Dane County group, to connect with the families of those arrested by ICE.
Neither ICE nor the Dane County Sheriff put out a statement following arrests but the Madison Police Department did eventually confirm the arrests.
The Madison arrests, along with an ICE raid in Manitowoc that resulted in the detention of 24 dairy workers, mark an escalation in immigration enforcement activity in Wisconsin.
At a Friday press conference, Darryl Morin of Forward Latino called the ICE raids in Madison and Manitowoc “a new sad chapter in immigration enforcement right here in our great state.”
Centro Hispano of Dane County posted a message on Facebook confirming the seven arrests at a single address in Madison on Oct. 2.
“This is the only confirmed incident in Madison at this time. No other verified reports of ICE presence elsewhere in the city,” the post stated. “Centro and Voces de la Frontera are gathering verified information and providing support to impacted families.
“We are aware of many rumors about the presence of ICE in Madison, including schools, workplaces, and other spaces. We want to be clear: none of these rumors have been confirmed as actual ICE presence. There has only been one verified presence and arrests by ICE this morning at a residential location that ICE specifically targeted.
“We ask our community that if you have firsthand information about ICE activity, please call the Voces de la Frontera Community Defense Hotline at 1-800-427-0213 immediately.”
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