Know-Your-Rights Education and Training Expands in Wisconsin

Have you heard of the Milwaukee Turners? It’s a civic group with historic roots in abolitionism, labor organizing, and civil rights advocacy. And it was founded more than 170 years ago!

But as concerns continue to grow over federal immigration enforcement actions in Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Turners are back in the spotlight. The organization is currently expanding community education programs focused on constitutional rights and civic engagement. 

“The time for ordinary people to do brave things is upon us,” Emilio De Torre, executive director of the Milwaukee Turners.  

De Torre shares that the group has grown from 30 members just five years ago to close to 700 today. There’s also an email list of roughly 10,000 people. He calls fear, along with confusion, as the reasons more people want to learn about asserting their rights during any possibility of an encounter with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

The organization is offering free programs across Milwaukee County, including fitness classes for older adults, veterans services, mutual aid initiatives, and nonpartisan civic education. There’s training on de-escalation, interacting with law enforcement, and ways to respond during ICE encounters.

De Torre also reminds residents of the right to demand that federal law enforcement follow the U.S. Constitution. This includes requirements for judicial warrants before entering private spaces.

“ICE agents must present a judicially signed warrant to enter private property, and residents are not required to open their doors or answer questions without one,” De Torre says. “Administrative warrants do not grant legal authority to enter a home without consent.”

And De Torre is also asking residents to contact your state and local elected officials, including legislators, mayors, police chiefs and county supervisors. He calls it an important way to ensure local law enforcement agencies protect residents’ constitutional rights and hold federal agents accountable for misconduct.

“These actions are not limited to large cities,” he explains, noting reports of enforcement activity in rural areas, including farms. “This is happening across the state.”

De Torre says the Milwaukee Turners are noticing a shifting public opinion, including from people who initially supported stricter immigration enforcement but now oppose what they view as violations of First and Fourth Amendment rights.

The organization is also starting to expand its legal observer program. It trains volunteers to document and monitor law enforcement interactions without interfering. De Torre said more than 500 people are expected to be trained by the end of January, with additional sessions scheduled in February and March at Turner Hall.

Find more information, including free Know-Your-Rights materials and training information, here.