Intermittent downpours did not deter a group of more than 100 students from multiple Madison-area high schools from gathering on the steps of the Wisconsin Capitol Thursday morning in a rally for immigrant workers’ rights and Palestinian freedom.
“Free, free Palestine! Si, se puede! (Yes, we can),” the group chanted below banners and umbrellas. Flags from Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua and Palestine waved over the crowd or were worn as capes by students.
Yarianie Rodriguez, a student from Monona Grove High School, outlined the group's demands, which included state drivers’ licenses for all residents of age and regardless of documentation status, free school lunches, improvements to the work permitting process, and divestment from the Israeli war in Gaza.
Rally organizers view the two issues as deeply intertwined and both important for the students, many of whom will be old enough to vote in November’s presidential election.
A banner held by students read “No borders in the workers’ struggle. Free Palestine. La clase obrera no tienes fronteras (The working class has no borders).”
“All of these are things that have to be said and be advocated for, because many things go unnoticed,” Rodriguez said. “And this is the day where all students come and make their demands and voices heard.”
Madison high school students protest on the steps of the Wisconsin state Capitol, Thursday, May 2, 2024.
Students want to vote for a presidential candidate who supports their needs, said Stephanie Salgado Altamirano, Madison-based organizer for Voces de la Frontera, an organization that works for immigrant and workers’ rights in Wisconsin.
“With the students, as they’re becoming 18 and are now getting to vote, they're telling me that they want better candidates, that they want better resolutions, especially for what is humanely feasible in our world,” Salgado Altamirano said. “To end war, to give students lunches, to also give access to classes like Chicano Latino Studies and Black studies.”
The rally for immigrant workers’ rights is a long-held tradition on May 1, a holiday recognized as International Workers’ Rights day or May Day. A few years ago, Voces de La Frontera chose to expand the movement to two days.
High school students carry a banner which reads "Aqui etsamos, aqui estaremos. No nos vamos hasta que lo logremos," which loosely translates to "Here we are. Here we'll stay. We're not leaving until we win."
“It's a platform for the Latinx and immigrant rights movement and multiracial youth,” said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de La Frontera. “Many of the youth here are U.S. citizens of undocumented parents, or have aunts or uncles or siblings that are undocumented, and they have voting rights.
"So our demand on (President Joe) Biden this May 1 and May 2 is that he needs to both use executive authority to really expand some kind of protected status for these undocumented immigrant workers and their mixed immigration status families, and also to support a cease-fire in Gaza.”
The president needs to make significant policy changes before November’s election or risk losing the youth vote, Neumann-Ortiz warned.
“Biden's support right now is low, because he needs to do something for the long-term undocumented with mixed immigration status families," she said, "as well as really recognizing that blind support and funding for Israel — both of those issues are really a threat to losing the election in November.
“It's something not to be taken for granted. He needs to really listen before November.”
Thursday’s rally, which was peaceful and garnered no notable police presence, was organized by students who gathered at Centro Hispano over the last several weeks to plan the rally and establish the group’s calls to action for state and national elected officials.
