PATRICIA GÓMEZ: En Wisconsin hay varios proyectos de ley bipartidistas que de ser aprobados beneficiarían a participantes de DACA.

Están patrocinados por los representantes Silvia Ortiz Vélez y John Macco.

Ellos están con nosotros.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: Representative Macco, Representative Ortiz-Velez, thank you so much for being with us today on Adelante.

SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: Thank you for having us.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: Representative Macco, you are a sponsoring in a bipartisan with Representative Ortiz-Velez a set or a package of bills related to DACA.

Can you please list these bills?

JOHN MACCO: Sure.

We actually came up with four different bills.

The first one is SB78, AB 820, AB 821, and AB 822.

Now I know most people don't go with numbers, but the first one is what are we calling our Police Parity Bill.

AB 820 is a Tax Credit Bill, an offset of a fee that we're hoping to get done.

The third one is tuition, and the fourth is licensing.

So those are our four packages, and they're in various stages of moving through the process here.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: Representative Ortiz-Velez, can you tell us about Bill 820?

SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: Well, Bill 820 allows the state to give that credit to offset the biannual application fee that has to be paid to the federal government.

And so that will help encourage people and help people along the way.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: DACA enroll people have to pay around $500 every two years?

SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: Yes.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: And they will be offset by the $250 that they will be credited?

SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: Yes, the state would give a credit for that.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: OK. Representative Macco, can you tell us more about this bill, the DACA enroll, or the DACA beneficiaries being able to enter as a police officer the law enforcement?

Can you tell us-- JOHN MACCO: Actually, if I can just back up a second, all four of these bills are really critical.

820 was sort of the end piece of it because when we were looking at the three bills, the Police Parity Bill, keep in mind that DACA recipients right now can serve admirably probably in some of the military.

They can serve admirably in the corrections department as law enforcement officers.

They can serve in the Department of Natural Resources as an enforcement officer.

They can serve admirably and do as state troopers.

But local police officers are under a different set of statutes.

So all our little does, it says that the local law enforcement folks can hire under the same law, rules, and regulations.

It doesn't mandate it.

It just gives them the same tools that the rest of the Wisconsin law enforcement folks have because it came to our attention up in Green Bay with our chief of police came to me, and he said he had a trainee that was moving up through the system, and he had gotten as far as he possibly could, and the next step for him now would be an officer.

But he was precluded from doing that because local law enforcement is governed under different statutes than all the other law enforcement officer officers are in the state.

So we're moving on that.

As a good note, that young gentleman was then picked up by the state troopers, went through their program here in Wisconsin, served down in Dane County, is now serving admirably as a state trooper up in Brown County now in Green Bay.

So although the city of Green Bay didn't get an opportunity to have him on their staff, fortunately, we are getting his benefits there.

So that's the first piece is the Police Parity Bill.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: If we go back to this set of bills, Representative Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, can you tell us about 821, each of these bills look at different needs or barriers that these DACA beneficiaries are facing right now?

SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: All of the Bills also help the state of Wisconsin, fill our need of workforce development.

And that's important because we have a shortage of over 45,000 workers in our state.

And not only do we need to retain people that we've invested in-- Wisconsin taxpayers have paid to educate people here in our state.

We've made investments into people.

We don't want to throw away those investments.

And so 821 allows DACA recipients to receive in-state tuition.

Many of them have lived in Wisconsin most of their lives, anyway.

And they've gone to our high schools, and our middle schools, and our grade schools.

And all of them are meant to make sure that we build up our workforce as well and to remove barriers to employment for people who are authorized and want to work.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: Few year ago, the in-state tuition was allowed in the state.

After Governor Scott Walker took down that possibility, so now this is referring just to the DACA beneficiaries.

Before the institution was for students without documented status.

So right now, we are talking about the Wisconsin Public System.

We are talking about the set of universities around Wisconsin that will allow in-state tuition for these students.

SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: That is correct description of Assembly Bill 821.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: 821.

And then if we talk about right now all these students who went through all the way, as you say, through high school and now they want to go to the university, they have to pay out-of-state tuition?

SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: Not only do they not qualify to receive any kind of grant-- any kind of federal programming funds, they have to pay for it out of their pockets, but on top of it, they have to pay out-of-state.

The irony of this is that if they were students that we have versity I think is Michigan-- if they lived in Michigan, then-- is it Michigan?

PATRICIA GOMEZ: Minnesota.

SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: Minnesota.

If they were transfers from Minnesota, then they would be allowed to have in-state tuition.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: All that bright minds will be moving to other states, and we will be losing all those students who can graduate soon in so many areas that are needed in Wisconsin.

SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: Correct.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: So going back to you, Representative Macco, can you tell us about the next bill that is 822?

It will be directed to another barrier that our 5,000 or so, maybe 6,000, DACA beneficiaries in Wisconsin are facing this barrier.

JOHN MACCO: I first want to back up just a moment and make sure that we understand that this has nothing to do with immigration.

None of these bills are immigration bills.

These are job bills and economic development bills.

Period.

I want to make sure everybody understands that.

Now the immigration issue is another issue.

And I'm sure that representative Ortiz and I would agree on a lot of issues relative to that.

But I want to make sure that your listeners and your viewers realize that's not what this is about.

This is about plain old simple economic development.

Like you said, Patricia, we have 6,000 of these DACA recipients that are residing here in the state of Wisconsin, 600,000 nationally.

And we want them to feel-- and they're here already.

And so what do we do with them?

And my goal is to make them career- and community-ready and to make them a prosperous taxpayers here in the state of Wisconsin.

That's what I would like to see.

That's what Sylvia and I are working on.

And so it seems ludicrous to me to have someone that's lived here for 20 years, like Sylvia said, that has gone through our education program, then goes to college here.

We sat down with a wonderful young lady, Sylvia and I, just a few weeks ago, who's now graduated from Carroll College as a nurse.

And she will now have to move to a different state to pass her nursing exam classes and get her license in another state and practice there.

That makes no sense to us.

We want them to be career- and community-ready.

So we want to make them available to get in-state tuition.

Then Sylvia said, they don't get-- they do not get any tax benefits, none.

They're not eligible for unemployment.

They're not eligible for Social Security benefits.

They're not eligible for any kind of tuition subsidies or grants.

And that's OK.

But we don't want them to be penalized.

We want them to pay a regular in-state tuition price just like everybody else would.

And then we go to the licensing.

And it's absolutely crazy.

Like I said, that one gal that is graduating from Carroll as a nurse can't even practice here.

She's going to have to get licensed somewhere else, and we lose a perfectly good nurse who lives here, loves this, considers Wisconsin home.

But they can't be plumbers, either, or licensed electricians.

They can't be barbers, for crying out loud.

So anything at all that the state of Wisconsin issues a license for, we would like them to also be able to qualify for here.

Now that's the key.

They have to qualify.

And I want you to know that this isn't that-- some really crazy so-called liberal states, like Arkansas, and Tennessee, and Utah have already passed these bills.

So we've got to get out of our own way and allow these folks to become productive citizens in the state of Wisconsin and to enjoy any kind of career that they can qualify for and want to pursue.

So that's what the licensing piece does.

That's what the tuition piece does.

And that's what the Police Parity Bill does.

And then we were so incensed about it that we're going these poor folks are down here working their tails off, and then we charge them $500 bucks every two weeks, so we just threw the tax piece in there just for fun because I was so irritated that we're penalizing these folks, and I wanted to give them half of it back Because I'd love it, quite honestly, I'd love it if all 600,000 DACA recipients from the entire country were to move to Wisconsin.

That would be awesome for our economy.

And so if we can incentivize them to do that, that's what I'd like to see happen.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: Yeah.

SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: Well, these bills are also not only to retain the great people that we have here already, but to invite others across our country to come.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: Yeah.

However, Representative Macco, and now that you have learned so much about taking down these barriers, not just for the DACA enroll, but for our state to keep great employees and to keep tax contributors because they are contributing, I think, $15 million, just this small group of 6,000 DACA-enrolled.

There are so many other things that can be done in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin actually is considered one of the restricted states regarding DACA.

You mentioned the progressive, Wisconsin still being a restrictive state.

Other states, I understand, they provide funding for health because these DACA beneficiaries don't have any protections in the health area.

Are you ready to make a long list of all the other barriers that you have to take down?

JOHN MACCO: No, Patricia, And that's exactly the problem.

That's not at all what I'm talking about.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: OK. JOHN MACCO: That's not at all what I'm all about.

I am not-- a matter of fact, it's no secret.

I am not at all interested in expanding Medicaid.

I'm not at all interested in bigger government, or bigger agencies, or free handouts.

And I'll tell you something.

That's not-- every DACA recipient I ran into, that's not what they're asking for.

So please don't make this into an immigration conversation.

It's not.

It's opportunity.

We want these folks to have the same opportunities that my grandparents, when they immigrated from Belgium.

And that's what they want.

So they just want us to get out of the way and let them do the successful thing.

Let them be a nurse.

Let them be an accountant.

Let them be an electrician or a plumber.

Let them do that.

And they'll figure it out the rest of it themselves.

They're here for opportunities.

All of those folks are there.

So I want to make sure that you understand that that's what we're looking for.

And I think these bills would allow them to pursue those careers and to become quality citizens here in the state of Wisconsin.

Now do I think Congress needs to move forward on some of those things?

Absolutely.

I think it is unconscionable that Congress hasn't put together a path so that these 600,000 DACA recipients have a methodology for them to get their green cards and eventually get their citizenship.

That has to happen.

And I guarantee you that all 600,000 of them would be willing to do that in a heartbeat.

My sister-in-law was a Chinese citizen.

She was here.

She is a PhD working in the labs in here in Madison, and she just became a citizen about two years ago after 15 long, arduous years, and ridiculous amounts of paperwork.

And I was pleasured and honored to go to her swearing-in ceremony.

And I think the 600,000 folks-- when you look at what a DACA recipient has to do just to maintain their DACA status, those are the kind of folks I want working for me.

And between all of our different companies in our Macco family, we have about 500 or 550 different employees.

There's two people that I'd hire in a minute.

If you worked on a family farm, and if you're a DACA recipient.

Period.

I'd hire you hands down because I know you know how to work, and you're not looking for anything free.

You're only working to-- you're only looking to say, hey, I know what I want.

I'm here for opportunity.

And I want to get out of the way of those hardworking folks that are doing exactly what my great grandparents did when they came here.

They didn't come here looking for anything.

They came here to say, I just-- this is the land of opportunity.

And it still is the land of opportunity.

And that's what I think Representative Ortiz and I are recognizing and realizing and going, all right, let them go, let them go because the economic power of that group, if we were to let them do their thing, would be staggering.

And those are the kind of folks that we want to be productive citizens here in the state of Wisconsin.

So those are the issues and we think allowing licensing, allowing them getting an education, and pursuing the careers that they see fit, is the best way to get that done.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: Representative Ortiz-Velez can you tell me about the benefits for Wisconsin?

We have mentioned economic in general employment, taxes contributions from these.

Are there any other areas that we can mentioned?

SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: Especially, in health care.

We have a very aging population, and we really need more nurses and more medical staff to take care of our aging population.

So that's a big need in our state.

I mean, we even have hospitals that are closing down across our state.

And that's a sign of nothing good on the horizon.

So we need to really focus, especially in certain fields, especially in medical, and other workforce areas.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: Talking about the Latino community, as we have a reduced amount of professionals, we also have a huge need among Latinos of those professionals who are in the same culture, in the same language.

SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: Well, that's absolutely true.

So there is a growing need for people that can speak Spanish and provide those services in a different language to people in our communities across our state.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: What about in the area of construction?

You talk about electricians needing these-- SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: Oh, my gosh.

Yes.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: - -these licensings.

SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: Yeah, we need to build a lot of homes in our state.

We have a housing shortage, and it's a supply problem.

And so we need to build, build, build.

Well, we need people to help with that workforce to build.

And part of that is electric.

We need electricity in homes.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: Plumber.

Plumbers.

SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: Yes.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: And many other-- professions that are needing-- SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: Real estate brokers, even-- PATRICIA GOMEZ: Exactly.

SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: --being able to service people in the language that they feel comfortable in to make sure there's a meeting of the minds when it comes to contracts.

That's important.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: Well, this is important because a lot of people are not informed about the situation about this condition.

Even students who are dreaming to graduate in one of those-- SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: That's so true.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: - -and they are DACA, have no idea that Wisconsin has this barrier.

SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: Some people don't even know, and they're studying in these fields, and they're invested their time, and their money, and their families have pulled together to make sure they can make it that far only to find out weeks before graduating, that they can't get licensed in our state in a place that they've called home.

They have to move, and people are moving.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: Exactly.

And Latinos like to live in within our families in the same location.

SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: That is true.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: OK. Representative Macco, what opportunities have these bipartisan bills to pass for these coming sessions, all the way from where they are coming and they are being successful, all the way to be approved?

JOHN MACCO: Yes, so as you articulated, there are four separate bills.

We think they should pass all four of them.

I did have the opportunity to speak with the governor about it briefly at the residence around Christmas time, and he's all for them.

So we have to get it to him.

The challenge really is on our side of the aisle, there's a profound miscommunication and a misunderstanding of what a DACA recipient actually is, or what these bills actually do.

And so we've made tremendous communication-- tremendous effort on that.

Great for her, but sad for us, our Senate lead was Senator Lena Taylor, who, as you know, was just appointed a judgeship this weekend.

I texted her before it was actually announced and congratulated her.

She will make a great judge.

But she was our champion on the Senate side.

And we still have Senator James over there, and he's doing a phenomenal job.

But that seems to be where the gridlock is running into.

So very proud of the fact that with Representative Ortiz and I, we were able to get these bills.

Some of them are in various stages, but they've been through committees and through-- one of them-- in the case of the Police Parity Bill was already done on the main floor.

So we're now just waiting for the Senate to move on some of these.

And then if that were to happen, they'll go to the governor's desk, which I'm convinced he would sign them.

So we just have to get that done.

But as you know, there's a lot of commotion going on in this building the last few weeks that, I think, are sadly distracting us from some of the real work of governing that we need to be doing right now and frustrated as everybody is.

And we've got a team of folks, by the way, with Representative Ortiz and I, and a bunch of other folks who want to see these things done.

And daily, we're going back and forth and back and forth, did you talk to this person?

Did you talk to that person?

Where are we on this?

How do we get that done?

So we're working really, really diligently to get the hearings that we need on the Senate side.

And then it's our hope that those would go straight to the governor.

But too soon to tell.

But organizations like yours, getting the word out like you're doing, is extremely helpful.

So thank you for that.

We had another interview about an hour ago on the same topic.

So I think folks realize.

And especially when Representative Ortiz and I get a chance to actually sit down with these folks and say, no, no, no, let me clarify to you exactly what this does and what it does not, then they go, oh, that makes perfect sense.

And so we just need to do more of that, so I want to thank you for broadcasting that.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: Thank you, Representative Macco, for taking the time.

Representative Ortiz-Velez, what are the next steps that need to be done?

I know that after he gets out of the assembly, it goes to the Senate.

And we are running out of time.

SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: We are running out of time.

So if you're listening, please call your senators, call your assembly representatives, and tell them that you support all four of the bills because we are running on time.

And we need everyone's help.

It's all hands on deck.

I'm hoping we can get this to the finish line.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: Representative Macco, what happens if these bills run out of time?

Are you in a serious position to reenter for the next session?

JOHN MACCO: Sure.

If both Representative Ortiz and I come back next session, we're fortunate enough to get reelected, we will do it again.

Now keep in mind on the Police Parity Bill, we did this last session, too.

This isn't our first stab at it.

So it passed, I think, 98 to 1 last session.

And so we moved it out, and it got bogged down in the Senate again.

And so we ran out of time there in the Senate.

So we're trying one more time.

We're closer now than we were last time.

So hopefully, we can get that done.

But if for some reason we run out of time and it just doesn't get done, we'll take it up again in January.

SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: So Representative Macco has shown more than one session, time after time, that he is dedicated to making sure that these bills move forward.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: So that's guarantee then if this time things don't work, it will be reintroduced.

SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: I have no doubt.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: OK.

So now-- SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: His commitment-- PATRICIA GOMEZ: OK. SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: --and mine.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: How can people follow up the developments with this process?

How can people be paying attention to what is happening to these bills, Representative Ortiz?

Is there a way that they can be-- SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: I think contacting our offices.

My staff is always happy to keep people informed about what's going on because it is consistently moving, so things are consistently changing.

So I mean, contacting my office, I know, my staff would be helpful to explain what's going on, and how they can help individually.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: Good.

Representative Macco, is there something else that you would like to add to this conversation?

JOHN MACCO: No, I think my colleague is absolutely right.

Folks need to continue to make phone calls, particularly to the Republican senators and let them know exactly how important this is in developing our business community, and that's what we need to get done.

So again, Sylvia and I are running roughshod here on the House side.

And so that's not really where the problem lies.

But we do need to move forward on the Senate side.

We're a little bit handicapped now that Senator Taylor has left the Senate and is now in her new position as Judge.

So she was an amazing advocate for us over there.

And we need to continue to have folks advocate for us on the Senate side so that we can get these hearings, that we get them exact, that we get them on the floor, and then we can get them to the governor to sign.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: Representative Macco, Representative Ortiz-Velez, we're grateful to have you here with this very important information, crucial information for our community.

SYLVIA ORTIZ-VELEZ: Thank you for getting the message out.

PATRICIA GOMEZ: Thank you.