Amid a season of presidential candidate campaigns with immigration high on the priority list, South Division High School hosted the Voces de la Frontera (Voices of the Frontier) Youth Summit on Tuesday night.

Voces de la Frontera, a non-profit local organization that plays an integral role in bringing a Latino voice to the U.S. politics of immigration, was joined by the high school student organization S.U.F.R.I.R. (Students United for Immigrant Rights) at the event. Representation of S.U.F.R.I.R. was spread across six public high school chapters of greater Milwaukee, such as Riverside and Pius.

The Latino Student Union of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Sigma Lambda Beta of Marquette were also there to show their support and speak at the microphone to students, faculty and the community.

“Hope is what we need at this time,” said Veronica Sotelo, Vice-President of the Latino Student Union (LSU). “It is hope that has gotten us to this land of freedom, equality and justice. And now it is our work to make sure freedom, equality and justice shows no blind eye to our people here, and all of our people at home.”

An anticipatory fervor lit up the room with the speech and discussion that composed the majority of the Youth Summit. The students were proud to have seen such organic growth in their group, S.U.F.R.I.R., growing from one to six chapters in Wisconsin in the last two years.

The first group came out of Horlick High School in Racine in May 2006, around the time of Proposition HR 134 that would have made all undocumented immigrants felons. The groups have accomplished much in their coalition work with other immigrant rights organizations around Milwaukee and the Midwest. However, some of the groups felt that they had “hit a brick wall” in recent times, as one of the S.U.F.R.I.R. members of Riverside High School states.

“We are beginning to do too many bake sales and not enough action, in my opinion,” said the Riverside student.

Those who participated in the Youth Summit discussed at length the importance of the Latino vote at present. Bianca A. of Horlick High School initiated the first S.U.F.R.I.R. student organization two years ago and had a lot to say about the possibilities of future actions. In their first year, they participated in the school boycott to march in the May 1 protest of 2006.

They also staged a mock graduation ceremony in which all of the Latino students participated with caps and gowns.

One of the primary concerns of these students is their undocumented classmates. The last two valedictorians of South Division were, in fact, illegal aliens and so were not allowed to pursue higher education without a proper social security number.

Josy Perez, head of the Riverside student chapter, presented poetry and explained her perspective on the struggle of all peoples who seek a better life through immediate immigration.

“This exodus as first and second and third generation immigrants finds us destined to compose a poverty-stricken labor force of America, for we are unable to access any ladder to proper health care, education or employment. As long as we do the jobs that are not wanted, we are allowed (in).”

LSU of UWM and Sigma Lambda Beta of Marquette extended their hands in college application assistance and chaired a booth with information on each of their schools. The Latino Student Union has also participated largely in community actions for the passing of legislation such as the D.R.E.A.M. Act, which would give students the right to access higher education in the country without regard to their legal status.

Proponents believe that the act would be a catapult to gradually improving the Latino community’s economic capability and decreasing the expenses paid by social taxes for the impoverished.

“We know that we are able to do so much more,” said Sotelo. “And we will continue to have our dreams of making something of ourselves. As long as we can hope in our dreams, our work will not cease.”

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