Hundreds of Latinos and immigrants from around the state, including Beaver Dam, demonstrated outside the Capitol in Madison Thursday against state legislation they say is divisive. The demonstrators chanted and held signs on the square outside the Capitol Thursday morning where temperatures are below freezing. One sign read “All We Want is Equity.” Executive director of Voces de la Frontera, Christine Neumann-Ortiz says one Assembly bill would lead police to investigate a person’s immigration status and detain people for deportation. “The only thing these bills do is its going to create more fear of Latinos and immigrants, working with local law enforcement. It forces local law enforcement to undermine good policies and procedures they’ve established with the community,” Neuman-Ortiz told WFDL news. She says a proposed Senate bill would block counties from issuing local identification cards to people who don’t have access to a state ID.
