As the elections approach, phones have been ringing with texts and calls from people eager to get out the vote.
Among those canvassers are some Wisconsinites who can’t vote themselves.
That includes Briseyda Bautista Gonzalez, a sophomore at Carthage College in Kenosha. She’s been busy tabling on campus through her involvement with Youth Empowered in the Struggle, or YES, a multicultural social justice organization. Posted at busy corners of campus, they get students to check their voter status and learn about different options for voting.
Gonzalez was born in Mexico and came to the U.S. with her family when she was four. They lived in California for a year before moving to Sparta, Wisconsin, where she grew up and eventually applied for DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, status. That allows her to work, as well as obtain a social security number and driver’s license.
But because Gonzalez isn’t a citizen, she can’t vote. So it’s important to her that others do.
The tabling still makes her nervous, as she often discusses the landscape of immigration politics, including her own status. One time, they were giving away free conchas.
“Sometimes it’s like, ‘Oh, they’re just here for the conchas,’ and then they’re gonna leave,” Gonzalez said. “There are those moments where I do feel unmotivated, like they’re not really taking me serious or they don’t really care about this topic, because it doesn’t affect them.”
But she keeps at it, feeling that it’s important to raise awareness about the uncertainties that DACA recipients face. Gonzalez has spoken to some students, and even professors, who are surprised to learn that DACA recipients can’t vote, or that their protection only lasts two years at a time.
“My life here in the United States is up to people’s voices here in America,” she said. “So I’m pushing to encourage students to please use your voice. You have this right.”
Over the years, DACA has faced many legal challenges. Last month, a federal court ruled that DACA is illegal. The program is still running for now, but its future is — once again — uncertain. About 600,000 people like Gonzalez can keep renewing their status, but many others are shut out of applying for the first time. There are currently around 1.3 million people eligible across the country.
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Immigration advocates are backing politicians who will create permanent protection for undocumented immigrants.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mandela Barnes says he supports reform that will secure the border and provide a pathway to citizenship. Republican incumbent Ron Johnson has voted against such measures in the past, saying he won’t back reform until border security tightens.
There’s more at stake than immigration, said Cendi Tena, the interim co-executive director of the youth leadership organization Leaders Igniting Transformation, or LIT. Issues like education and abortion access also affect marginalized communities of color.
Tena, who is a DACA recipient, has been doing election work since the 2016 presidential race, in which former President Donald Trump made anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies a pillar of his campaign.
“The thought of someone that had such an extreme agenda that he wanted to implement was something that was very frightening, especially for me, as someone who is undocumented,” she said.
Now, Tena focuses on fostering young leaders. She just led a team of high school canvassers last weekend. They went to Milwaukee neighborhoods like Amani and Clark Square — places with lots of young voters, and historically low turnout. One of the high schoolers she worked with had been nervous — it was her first time canvassing — but by the end of the shift, she was an expert.
Without a vote of her own, Tena said it feels powerful to activate voters. But political education with young people extends beyond voting.
“After the election, I think that’s when the work really starts,” she said. “It is our responsibility to hold elected officials accountable.”
LIT teaches young people to engage with draft legislation, budget processes, and their elected officials — something everyone can participate in, regardless of immigration status. Earlier this year, the organization got students involved with the La Crosse school board race, for example.
The students make excellent canvassers, Tena said, because whether they're undocumented or have unhealthy school lunches, their lives are shaped by the very policies they're engaging with voters on.
“It’s a fact that those who are mostly impacted are the strongest messengers for this type of work,” she said.
Fernanda Jimenez, a junior at Alverno College, embraces her role as a messenger. As a DACA recipient, she believes it’s her responsibility to speak out for the many undocumented people who don't meet the program's eligibility requirements.
Jimenez was born in Mexico City and came to the U.S. when she was 5 years old, crossing the border with her mother and two older siblings.
Jimenez, who is also a member of YES, has been reaching out to all the contacts on her phone.
“There’s some people that I haven’t talked to in a while, so it can get a little awkward,” she admitted.
She’ll text them first, then set up a call or a coffee date. They catch up a bit.
“Then I say, ‘Hey, I’m not sure if you’ve heard already, but there’s elections coming up. They’re really important. And I wanted to see if you had some time that I could explain to you why they’re important for me,’” she said.
Once they get to talking, Jimenez shares her family’s story. Problems they had with money, since her parents couldn’t find consistent work; the shame she used to have talking about her status; the fear of deportation.
With DACA under attack, she tells them she fears that she and her siblings could lose their status. Last year, Senate Democrats attempted to pass immigration reform; putting pro-immigrant Mandela Barnes in the Senate could provide a crucial vote toward securing their future.
“If my family could vote, that would be like, five, six votes that they could do,” she said.
So, will they agree to vote on her behalf? So far, Jimenez has 20 who have said yes. Five of them are voting for the first time.
One of the convinced voters is her own stepfather. He can vote, but hasn’t in years. He always said his vote didn’t matter. She told him how she sees it: Republicans have achieved near-total control of the state because they have a strategy, which works because they vote.
“Your vote does matter,” Jimenez told him. “It matters to me.”
Next Tuesday, she’ll join her stepfather at the polling station, as he casts his first vote in a long time. It’ll only take a few minutes, she said. Easy enough.
