Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a federal agency also known as ICE is causing controversy yet again as it ramps up operations in the Milwaukee area. According to a statement from Voces De La Frontera “we have seen examples of excessive use of violence, as we have witnessed in other cities, from an institution that believes it does not have any accountability”. During a press conference held on Tuesday morning, witnesses and detainees shared numerous accounts of ICE interactions that have taken place over the last week.

With the help of a translator, Galo Suarez shared details of his detainment and the arrest of his fiance and her brother. Suarez stated ““Stopping in front of us..they broke our side window, and they told us that if we didn’t comply, we would face several consequences. They had guns pointed at us and asked for our names. They didn’t ask for our IDs. They took us violently from our cars…they put my fiance against the car and said “this is what happens to you peros (dogs
)”. They took my wallet and found my work permit. They tried to get me to say it was fake.””

Jacqueline Eckstrom shared details of an incident she witnessed on W. Greenfield avenue. “They smashed the window of the car and grabbed the mom aggressively. It all happened real quickly, and they took off. There were kids crying…I walked up to the car by the broken window, there were shards of glass everywhere, and there’s two kids in the back seat…the sister was holding her brother. It broke my heart.” Eckstrom paused and continued with tears in her eyes. “I can’t get it out of my mind…the trauma…someone wearing police vests, that’s not the police with masks on their head taking their mom.”

Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic outlined how some of the ICE activity violated city ordinances that were adopted as part of the ICE OUT package. “We were informed that some of this activity actually took place at a city of Milwaukee police station. We didn’t believe it. We couldn’t believe it…in fact, it was true. That there was staging…there was use of a district police station, and a parking lot. Immediately, we informed the Milwaukee Police Department and the leadership, and they informed ICE that it cannot and will not happen in the city of Milwaukee.” Dimitrijevic concluded by saying “Keep documenting it. Let’s not give up. We will hold people accountable. There will be consequences for not following the rules that we set forth for a safer Milwaukee for all.”