Laura DeMeuse, an intake coordinator at Literacy Green Bay, feels learning English is a top priority for newly arrived immigrants to get ahead in their careers, communicate more effectively with their children’s teachers and engage with others in their community.
Literacy Green Bay was started in 1980 to tutor newly arrived Southeast Asian immigrants. Over the years, it’s become even more vital as the city continues to diversify and new migrants move to the area. Today, roughly 9% of Green Bay’s population is foreign-born, according to data from the American Community Survey, which is 1.5 times higher than statewide.
“English is a really hard language to learn, and it can take a long time,” she said, “[Literacy Green Bay] is really a needed thing in our community.”
The program has expanded its services to accommodate these new migrants, particularly Latinos, who make up a significant portion of the city’s population. One in five Green Bay residents identify as Hispanic, including 40% of the city’s east side, according to the 2020 census.
Immigrants attend Literacy Green Bay because they believe knowing English will help them advance in their careers, according to DeMeuse. Her job is testing new students and placing them in the class that matches their English proficiency.
But DeMeuse said trying to change false stigmas about immigrants can be a challenge. She feels the rise in polarizing sentiments have caused Green Bay residents to become “more divided” on the issue.
Literacy Green Bay hosts trivia night fund-raisers that local businesses and community members will participate in, as well as setting up booths at local farmers’ markets and expos to promote the organizations to residents.
These community events give people a better understanding of the work Literacy Green Bay does and helps combat false stigma about immigrants in the community, according to DeMeuse.
“I just want to invite people in and say, ‘come in and see how hard working [immigrants] are,’” she said.
A political shift under the Trump presidency
Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has signed several executive orders chipping away at immigrants’ rights in the United States. DeMeuse said this has created an “overwhelming sense of fear” for staff and students at Literacy Green Bay.
According to DeMeuse, Literacy Green Bay now undergoes routine drills that prepare staff and students in the event that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement visits the premises. She recalls a specific instance, when a nearby buissness’s burglar alarm system went off and police entered the organization’s building to ask staff if they knew what happened.
“[Police] had to walk down the hallway past classrooms, and people were terrified,” DeMeuse said.
Literacy Green Bay is located in Brown County, an area Trump won by over 11,000 votes in the 2024 presidential election. While Trump’s executive orders are undergoing several legal challenges, DeMeuse is still fearful that potential deportations could negatively impact communities throughout the state.
Local organizer Ricardo Torres said it’s part of what he sees as the “dehumanization of the word immigrant.”
“I think that there has been a big attitude change in what and how stuff is handled for the Latino and immigrant community,” he said.
It’s something Torres has experienced first hand as an administrative assistant with the Green Bay Area School District.
“I had a committee meeting coming up at church that we were preparing for, and I was wondering if either a person from the school board or a person from the higher up or even myself could represent the school district and sort of see what is out there for Latino and immigrant families to get prepared if the worst happens,” Torres said.
Their response surprised him. Torres said the district told him they would not be coming because it would seem like a political stance for the district to publicize immigrant resources when much of the state — including many Green Bay parents — voted for Trump.
“That really bothered me, because now it's not only seen as a dehumanizing thing to side with immigrants, but now it's also seen as a political campaign or a political advantage to side with the humanizing side,” Torres said.
Torres knows how difficult the immigrant experience can be first hand. His parents immigrated to the U.S. as a couple in the late 1990s. His father now works as a Methodist preacher and his mother, Torres said, is the “rock” of the family.
But neither of them speak fluent English, and through the years, it’s made basic parts of life difficult for him and his family.
“[My dad] was telling me stories about how he couldn't even ask for rides or anything like that. He'd walk to work and back,” Torres said.
And as a child, Torres vividly remembers his first experience in an English-language school. At the time, no large bilingual programs were available, so he was placed in an English-only Head Start program, where he struggled to understand what his peers and instructors were saying.
Through it all, Torres remembers his parents' resilience and credits them with instilling in him an “advocacy spirit.” That spirit led him to Voces de la Frontera, an immigrant rights group, where he’s worked as a political organizer and legal assistant since 2016.
Among the many challengers for immigrant workers, Torres said English can be a “barrier” to advancement and dignity.
“In the workforce environment, it’s sort of like, ‘this guy does not know English, so we're just going to leave him in this one position,’” he said.
It’s something Torres said “stunts growth” in jobs, since the vast majority require proficiency in English. And English can also be a significant barrier in education, he said, emphasizing the importance of meeting immigrant families where they’re at.
The district offers a significant amount of bilingual services and has paraprofessionals who work “hand-in-hand” with families to translate documents, schedule appointments and perform other forms of outreach. These are critical, “needed” services, but Torres said “a lot” of parents still “miss out” on opportunities — from extracurriculars to internships — because of the language barrier.
“Without having extra resources and without understanding the English language, there's a lot of stuff that just goes within the drain and you can't catch it,” Torres said.
Nick Bumgardner is the features editor for The Daily Cardinal. He previously covered state news and politics as a senior staff writer. You can follow him on Twitter at @nickbum_.
Iain Chang is a senior staff writer at The Daily Cardinal covering state news and politics.
