On Thursday, amnesty activists marked “A Day Without Latinos” across the nation, but it was in Madison, Wisconsin, that the real action took place. Legislators there are considering bills that would allow police to investigate people’s immigration status and block counties from issuing identification cards to people who cannot access state IDs. Those laws would be similar to laws passed in Arizona, hence the #WisconsinIsNotArizona hashtag.
Protesters were bussed in from around the country and converged on the state capitol to rally both outside and inside.
I've been living in Wisconsin all my life,
I've never ever have been ashamed and disappointed to say it
Until now #WisconsinIsNotArizona— Lili Corazón (@Im_Corazon) February 15, 2016
Crossing artificially conceived borders to seek safety for your family does not make you a criminal #WisconsinIsNotArizona
— ? (@lovageluvr777) February 18, 2016
Even if I'm not Mexican, i stand with all my Latinos. #Wisconsinisnotarizona
— Destinie (@destiniehassel) February 18, 2016
Sad to see no media attention on what is going on in Wisconsin. A day for Latinos to stand together.#WisconsinIsNotArizona
— Jose “Gonzo” Gonzalez (@jlgonzo21) February 18, 2016
https://twitter.com/M_I_C__/status/700330413114441728
#WisconsinIsNotArizona We can do this! #Adaywithoutlatinos we'll show you how important we are for this country & its economy @ScottWalker!
— gaby??? (@its_just_gabby3) February 18, 2016
Wisconsin has come out to say "NO" to racist, anti-immigration legislation.#diasinlatinos #WisconsinIsNotArizona pic.twitter.com/t7qEV4Rex6
— MTEA (@MTEAunion) February 18, 2016
We are a nation of immigrants. #SiSePuede #WisconsinisnotArizona pic.twitter.com/IdAqxSNRHa
— Sandy Morales ??????? (@BBBSSandyM) February 18, 2016
Students are leading this movement against anti-immigrant legislation #diasinlatinos #WisconsinIsNotArizona pic.twitter.com/CZI0CYEwOM
— MTEA (@MTEAunion) February 18, 2016
#daywithoutlatinos #wispolitics pic.twitter.com/jnbU4Xj5q2
— Katelyn Ferral (@katelynferral) February 18, 2016
https://twitter.com/erikameza159/status/700460222993690624
Perhaps the clearest distinction that Wisconsin is not Arizona is the phrase, “No Latino, No Milk.”
"Who is milking the cows?" Sign from #daywithoutlatinos in Madison pic.twitter.com/77fKJPdigH
— Katelyn Ferral (@katelynferral) February 18, 2016
This was the Wisconsin Capitol Rotunda just before noon today! #WisconsinIsNotArizona #DayWithoutLatinos pic.twitter.com/DLcHmmYVmV
— MTEA (@MTEAunion) February 18, 2016
Where’s Joel? Oh, at school.
#WisconsinIsNotArizona matters but my education does too so I'm going to school
— Joel (hoe-L) (@jojo_saavedra14) February 18, 2016
For as many tweets that complained that the huge protest was being ignored by the national media, there were even fewer that got to the heart of the matter.
#WisconsinIsNotArizona is not anti-immigration. It is anti illegal immigration. Get it through your heads.
— † ???? ???? ?? (@captbeardinator) February 18, 2016