Voces de la Frontera Action is the political advocacy arm of Voces de la Frontera, a left-of-center immigration advocacy group based in Wisconsin. The organization is best known for organizing Latino and immigrant general strikes to protest against the enforcement of federal immigration laws. Voces de la Frontera and Voces de la Frontera Action have led opposition to immigrant deportation, the removal of driver’s licenses from illegal immigrants, and the use of local law enforcement to enforce immigration laws.

In addition to Voces de la Frontera Action, Voces de la Frontera oversees three sub-organizations. New Sanctuary Movement is the faith-based advocacy arm of the organization, and Youth Empowered in the Struggle is the immigrant student advocacy group associated with Voces de la Frontera. Voces de las Artistas is a collection of artists associated with the main organization.

Voces de Frontera Action endorsed 14 local candidates in the 2020 election, all of whom are Democrats. Action also endorsed Democratic congressional candidate Tom Palzewicz. ¹

History

In 1994, Voces de la Frontera was founded as a pro-immigration newspaper in Austin, Texas. Co-founder and current executive director Christine Neumann-Ortiz was a member of the Coalition for Justice in Maquiladoras, a labor agitation organization, and worked as an anti-NAFTA activist in Mexico. Neumann-Ortiz founded the paper to rally opposition among Mexican and American workers to NAFTA. ²

In 1998, the newspaper relocated to Milwaukee. Over the next few years, Voces de la Frontera shifted its focus to providing legal support for individual immigrants and political advocacy against immigration law. The organization specifically challenged government and employment immigration enforcement strategies, such as using Social Security number discrepancies to target possible illegal immigrants. ³

In 2004, the organization established Voces de la Frontera Action. In its first year of operation, Action registered 10,000 voters. ⁴ In the 2008 election, Voces de la Frontera Action registered 2,000 new voters, 70% of which voted in districts targeted by Democrats. ⁵

In 2018, Voces de la Frontera Action launched the Voceros por el Voto, an initiative that  registered 48,000 voters in advance of the 2018 midterm elections. ⁶

Political Contributions

Voces de la Frontera Action has consistently supported Democratic Presidential candidates. As of October 2020, the organization had spent over $74,000 in independent expenditures to support former Vice President Joe Biden’s Presidential campaign. In the 2016 Presidential election, Voces de la Frontera Action spent $3,400 to support former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. During the 2012 election cycle, the organization spent almost $29,000 in support of former President Barack Obama. ⁷

Voces de la Frontera Action only contributed to non-presidential candidates during the 2010 midterm election cycle. The organization spent $12,000 to support the candidacies of U.S. Representative Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI), school board member John Heckenlively (I-Racine), congressional candidate Todd Kolosso (D-WI), and U.S. Representative Gwen Moore (D-WI). ⁸

1. “Our Candidates.” Voces de la Frontera Action. Accessed October 21, 2020. https://www.vdlfa.org/candidates.
2. “History.” Voces de la Frontera. Accessed October 21, 2020. https://vdlf.org/about-us/history/.
3. “History.” Voces de la Frontera. Accessed October 21, 2020. https://vdlf.org/about-us/history/.
4. “History.” Voces de la Frontera. Accessed October 21, 2020. https://vdlf.org/about-us/history/.
5. “History.” Voces de la Frontera. Accessed October 21, 2020. https://vdlf.org/about-us/history/.
6. “History.” Voces de la Frontera. Accessed October 21, 2020. https://vdlf.org/about-us/history/.
7. “Independent Expenditures.” Open Secrets. Accessed October 21, 2020. https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/indexpend.php?cmte=C90011826&cycle=2010&txt=.
8. “Independent Expenditures.” Open Secrets. Accessed October 21, 2020. https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/indexpend.php?cmte=C90011826&cycle=2010&txt=.