Wisconsin has reversed a law that barred so-called “Dreamers” who came into the country illegally as children from earning licenses for work such as dentistry, teaching and the building trades in what lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle said was an effort to keep talent inside the state.
Gov. Tony Evers in April signed Assembly Bill 759, a bipartisan piece of legislation to allow recipients under the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to earn licenses for certain skilled jobs. Under the new law, thousands of Dreamers living in Wisconsin can start learning and move up in the working world.
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More than 5,000 DACA recipients live in the state of Wisconsin under the 2012 program. They submit to background checks every two years, pay hundreds of dollars for renewals and follow other requirements to protect themselves from deportation. However, those protections have continued to weaken.
“(Recipients) go through more of a comprehensive background check every two years than I do as a law enforcer in my entire career, and I’ve been in for 25 years now,” said State Sen. Jesse James, R-Thorp, a police officer who is a cosponsor of the bill and will retire from the Senate at the end of his term. “I find that just insane.”
Previously, another bill to free up skilled work opportunities for Dreamers was introduced by former Republican Rep. John Macco, who is from northeast Wisconsin. But the bill never made it out of Madison.
While the national conversation around immigration has become more divisive, a Democratic state Representative said the issue was nonpartisan for his hometown of Green Bay.
“The belief that people come here to work and they come from all different places to work in Green Bay is not new,” said state Rep. Amaad Rivera-Wagner, a freshman lawmaker who co-drafted the bill. “Our farmers have always used migrant workers, and we’ve always had folks from other backgrounds and countries come into Green Bay.”
Under previous law, citizenship status was required for nearly 300 licensed occupations such as dentists, electricians or teachers. At that time, Dreamers in northeast Wisconsin could only find work in places such as farms, meatpacking plants and paper mills.
“We had somewhat of an archaic barrier,” Rivera-Wagner said. “This is historic and powerful… It’s a big deal with a small solution.”
With a 64% participation rate recorded in the state workforce last year, James said, DACA recipients who get credentialed will help fill the workforce gap.
An assortment of cities, civil rights groups, unions and business groups from across the state lobbied support of the new law.
Officials with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Association of Commerce said they had supported credentialing DACA recipients for years and that the old legislation had pushed talent to other states. But that tune has changed now.
“This bipartisan legislation reflects a common‑sense, workforce‑focused solution that will help Wisconsin better compete for talent and fill critical job openings,” said Dale Kooyenga, president and CEO of MMAC. “Employers here and throughout the state are ready to hire. This policy change helps ensure that motivated, qualified individuals can contribute fully to our economy and the Milwaukee 7 region.”
