Each year ahead of Mexican Independence Day in Milwaukee’s south side neighborhoods, the streets are filled with red, white and green flags, floats and vibrant music.
This year, instead of a parade and festival, a group of about 50 protesters gathered Sept. 13 at Mitchell Park to celebrate Mexican Independence Day and condemn the Trump Administration’s immigration enforcement efforts. They held Mexican flags and signs that read “stop deportations,” “No armies in our cities” and “Hands off Chicago, hands off the Midwest.”
The Unite for Mexican Independence Day rally was hosted by the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and other groups.
“Now more than ever we have to show that the Mexican community and the immigrant community, and everyone else stands strong,” Julie Velazquez, the alliance’s outreach co-chair, said to the crowd. “We’re here today because we see what ICE is doing in Illinois, in Chicago, and all across the country.”
The idea for the protest sprouted when Milwaukee’s United Migrant Opportunity Services canceled its annual Mexican Independence Day parade and festival, which has been running for around 50 years, citing funding concerns in a Facebook post on Aug. 26.
Velazquez said members of the alliance believe the Trump administration’s immigration crackdowns during the month of September are intentional, aiming to incite fear in the Latino community across the country during a time when communities gather for cultural celebrations.
Julie Velasquez of the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression delivers remarks Sept. 13 at the Unite for Mexican Independence Day rally and protest in Milwaukee.
“They’re scaring these largely immigrant communities into the shadows,” Velazquez said. “A silent community is one that can be more easily exploited and more easily targeted by these deportations … the more noise we make around these deportations, the less ICE is willing to do them.”
The alliance planned the rally in place of the parade to give the community the opportunity to gather and show strength in spite of fear, Velazquez said.
Sept. 15 is the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, as seven Central American countries celebrate their independence at the end of September, according to the National Museum of the American Latino. Mexico celebrates its independence from Spain on Sept. 16.
Several events and celebrations honoring Hispanic Heritage Month and Mexican Independence Day have been canceled across the country for fear of potential immigration presence.
“We still have to be vocal, we still have to be seen, and we still have to celebrate our culture,” Velazquez said.
Community members hold signs and flags Sept. 13 at the Unite for Mexican Independence Day rally and protest at Mitchell Park in Milwaukee.
Community groups across Milwaukee gather to protest
Several civil and immigrant rights groups from across Milwaukee gathered at the rally to show support. Among the groups that attended the rally was the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.
“I’m born and raised in Milwaukee, and something I always look forward to is the Mexican Independence Day celebration,” said Alan Chavoya, an organizer with the group. “Hearing that it was canceled this year, it was very disappointing and disheartening
Chavoya considered it an obligation for the group to celebrate who they are and to honor Mexico’s independence from Spain, he said. Also, rallying the community to protest against the Trump administration’s threats to bring federal agents to Milwaukee was a driving force in the group’s involvement.
“If people 200-plus years ago in Mexico remained afraid, we probably would have remained a Spanish colony,” Chavoya said. “But when people stand up and fight back, we get our freedom. … It’s not just about Mexican immigrants, it’s about everyone, that’s why it’s important for us to be here.”
Other groups, like Voces de la Frontera, were in attendance at the rally at Mitchell Park. Alondra Garcia, a member of the organization’s “Comites Sin Fronteras,” or committees without borders, attended the rally to honor Mexican independence and fight back against immigration enforcement efforts in cities like Chicago.
Garcia, who migrated from Mexico in 1999, and is a teacher in Milwaukee Public Schools, said she feels it’s important to fight back for her students and families who are afraid to leave their homes, scared to take their students to school or decided to self-deport back to their home countries.
Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association Vice President Luz Hernandez, left, prepares to deliver remarks Sept. 13 at the Unite for Mexican Independence Day rally and protest in Milwaukee.
“It saddening, disheartening and outright dehumanizing, the anti-immigrant rhetoric we’re hearing on a daily basis since this administration took office,” Garcia said. “It’s affecting every single one of our people in the community, regardless of immigration status.”
At the rally, a moment of silence was held for Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, a man fatally shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in a Chicago suburb. Officials said on Sept. 12 said he resisted arrest and dragged an agent with his car.
“That is what ICE is here to do. There’re not here to defend communities,” Chavoya said. “They’re the ones committing the crimes as of yesterday … those are the criminals, and we’re going to continue to fight against them for the liberation of all.”
Mackenzie Arlt, left, and Kaelyn Arlt, organizers from Codepink MKE, prepare signs for the Unite for Mexican Independence Day rally and protest Sept. 13 at Mitchell Park in Milwaukee
Fear of immigration presence at the protest
The alliance prepared to ensure the safety of its participants. A security team of 15 members patrolled the protest and were prepared to intervene if immigration enforcement arrived, according to Velazquez.
“ICE hasn’t been as active in Milwaukee as other places, but we don’t want to incite anything that would hurt our community,” she said. “We are ready to do what we can to protect our immigrant brothers and sisters.”
The alliance initially planned to march down to Cesar E. Chavez Drive but chose to stay at Mitchell Park for safety, Vazquez announced to protesters.
Federal immigration officials have not yet landed in Milwaukee, as they have in other cities like Chicago. However, several local civil and immigrants’ rights organizations are preparing for that possibility given the Supreme Court’s ruling lifting restrictions on immigration related stops based on a person’s ethnicity, language, location and type of work, which many see as a green light to racial profiling.
Alan Chavoya of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization delivers remarks Sept. 13 at the Unite for Mexican Independence Day rally and protest at Mitchell Park in Milwaukee.
Jodie Elliott of Milwaukee, who is not a part of the Latino community, attended the rally to show strength for those who may be afraid to speak out.
Elliott said she used to live in Tijuana, Mexico, and worked at an orphanage there for several years. She attended the rally to show support for Milwaukee’s Latino community and those who may be feeling “invisible,” she said.
“I believe everybody in this great land should have the freedom to live here without being in fear,” Elliott said. “Most immigrants are hardworking, really valuable members of society, and they shouldn’t have to live in fear. Everybody should step out and show solidarity, so no one is targeted.”
Several protesters in Milwaukee’s Mexican community attended to show solidarity with immigrant communities in Chicago.
Ulyses Girado, 35, immigrated from Mexico and settled in Milwaukee’s Muskego Way neighborhood. He said that before 2025, he had never heard of ICE agents entering Milwaukee, but now, its “hitting too close to home.”
Hoisting a sign that read “no person is illegal,” Girado participated in the protest chants with his fellow community members.
“We have to make our voices be heard, we have to take to the streets, protest and make ourselves noticeable to the public so people can be aware that we are here in this country, we contribute and we love this country,” Girado said. “We want to stay here, and we don’t want to be demonized.”
Alyssa N. Salcedo covers Layton Boulevard West for the Journal Sentinel’s Neighborhood Dispatch. Reach her at asalcedo@gannett.com. As part of the newsroom, all Alyssa’s work and coverage decisions are overseen solely by Journal Sentinel editors.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Mexican Independence Day rally in Milwaukee protests Trump policies