Madison immigrant organizations are taking extra steps to protect their clients who are increasingly concerned about their legal rights in the wake of recent federal and state action targeting undocumented immigrants.
The Madison Metropolitan Area is home to more than 50,000 immigrants, 7.8% of the population, according to the American Immigration Council. But 2023 data shows that at least 29,000 non-citizens residing in Madison are potentially at risk of deportation.
The Catholic Multicultural Center (CMC) provides several public services to South Central Wisconsin, including food pantries, employment assistance and legal aid. Laura Green, CMC grants and communications coordinator, told The Daily Cardinal that these services are predominantly used by the immigrant community in the Madison area. One of their services specifically provides affordable legal services to low-income immigrants and refugees.
“Eighty percent of the people using [the food pantry] are immigrants… we've had times where about 90% of the people in our employment search assistance office are immigrants,” she said.
Green said demand has always been high for legal services in the area, but it spiked around President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.
“Clients are worried, and we're getting more phone calls from current clients,” she said. “At the beginning of this year, we got a lot of phone calls… like double what we normally receive, about a month-long period before and after inauguration.”
Alicia Armstrong, associate attorney at Francis Law, an immigration law firm in Madison, said something similar happened during Trump’s first term.
“When President Trump was elected and started his first presidential term in 2017, I started getting a lot more phone calls, not necessarily more clients or cases, but just general questions about people's eligibility… and [now] it's the same kind of thing,” she told the Cardinal.
Armstrong said the kind of legal representation needed depends on the context of each individual.
“If a person entered without a visa, the situation is almost definitely one that would merit at least having a consultation with an immigration attorney, and the same for anyone who's ever been arrested, even if it's something like a misdemeanor,” she said.
However, Green said these more complicated cases are less likely to receive legal help from organizations such as the CMC, who have limited resources to take on cases.
“When it comes to defensive cases, I don't think you have as much of a guarantee that it will be successful. And since there's so many people who we know we can help who have a strong case, that's who we focus on, because we have to draw the line somewhere,” she said.
Armstrong said many clients are worried about the possibility of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raiding their place of work or business, similar to what happened during Trump’s first presidency.
In September 2018, a four-day ICE operation deployed by Trump resulted in the arrest of 20 people in Dane County. ICE officials said the arrests were meant to target those deemed a “public safety threat,” but U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, who represents the Madison area, said in 2019 no undocumented persons arrested during the raids were violent felons.
“It was a very scary time for the community here,” Armstrong told The Cap Times. “So I remember the shock of that day and kind of just feeling like we had to do something.”
Armstrong said that clients are now calling to know their rights should another raid take place in Dane County.
“They're just trying to make sure they're carrying the right documents on them at all times,” she said. “[They’re asking] ‘What do I need to have on me in the event of an emergency?'”
Demand for services rising, attorneys’ capacity slows
Green said CMC’s legal services have been able to expand in recent years. The organization served 965 residents in 2024, up from 672 in 2023.
Still, she said there are concerns about the ability to keep up with that caseload due to recent changes in legislation.
Trump’s suspension to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beginning on April 24 will affect the legal status of 530,000 immigrants nationwide.
“We are expecting that we will serve fewer people this year compared to last year because fewer people will be eligible, or people who were previously eligible and here on a temporary legal status such as TPS will no longer have the option to reapply,” Green said.
Armstrong said the recent changes have especially impacted practitioners' ability to serve their clients.
“From day to day, it's been tough. It's been more demanding of our time and resources away from doing the work that we need to do to get the cases out the door while we're trying to chase the news and make sure we're doing everything accurately and giving people the right information,” she said.
There are currently 3,392 pending immigration cases in Dane County, second in Wisconsin only to Milwaukee County, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. Within that population, only about 1,000 have legal representation, a third of the total number.
Armstrong said current clients in the area are especially worried about their travel status because of a looming travel ban expected to be enacted by Trump.
“[They’re saying] ‘what happens to me, am I going to be able to go to my home country?’” Armstrong said. “We're telling people pretty much to stay put right now and don't travel, as different statuses are riskier than others.”
As for undocumented immigrants in the Madison area, both Armstrong and Green say that the county has a good support system for those looking to become U.S. citizens.
“I know comparatively that immigrants living in Madison and Dane County specifically have more protections, more resources, more access to things that anywhere outside of those boundaries people are not going to be able to access,” Armstrong said.
Armstrong referenced the Dane County Sheriff’s Office’s recent withdrawal from the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, which provides funding to agencies who give the names of undocumented incarcerated individuals to ICE.
“I appreciate that the police have come out and stated that they are on the side of protecting immigrants who are vulnerable,” she said.
And both Francis Law and CMC are pushing, regardless of the new changes, to help as much of the local undocumented population as they can.
“I really don't know what the future holds for the long-term trajectory, [but] I'm hopeful that we come back around and circle back to trying to provide a welcoming space,” Armstrong said.
Vanessa Gavilan is the city news editor for The Daily Cardinal.
