In honor of President Barack Obama’s first official day in office, the Immigrant Workers Union held a press conference Wednesday night to express their desires regarding immigration reform at both the state and national level.

Presently, the workers union is concerned over the lack of immigration reform planned for the early days of Obama’s presidency, according to spokesperson Alex Gillis.

According to the workers’ union, thousands of Wisconsin immigrants are being subjected to segregation, harassment and persecution through a variety of methods including the statewide REAL ID law, which requires a valid ID to visit someone in jail, as well as the actions of Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney.

Mahoney is accused of unnecessarily reporting otherwise innocent individuals to the Immigrant and Customs Enforcement Agency and has received many complaints as a result from the union.

As a result of these actions, thousands of immigrants in Dane County are having their lives continually interrupted and families are being torn apart, with some members in jail and others being deported, Gillis said.

“People can’t visit their relatives in jail because they don’t have the proper ID,” Gills said at the press conference.

Not only are immigrants prevented from seeing their jailed relatives without proper ID, but they can also be put in prison for lack of proper ID, making any type of visitation impossible, something Gillis said affects more than 30,000 people in Dane County alone.

The workers’ union blames Mahoney for many of the problems currently affecting Dane County immigrants. Presently, Dane County has a non-binding resolution passed by the County Board of Supervisors asking the sheriff not to report individuals to ICE, according to County Board Supervisor member Carousel Andrea Bayrd.

The workers’ union would like to make this a binding resolution.

In order to help get their goals accomplished, the workers’ union will be involved in a variety of grassroots movements in the upcoming year to help educate the public about the challenges and problems immigrants are presently facing as well as putting more pressure on government officials, according to spokesperson Yvonne Geerts.

“We are going to really put a face on this tragedy, and put as much pressure on government officials as we can,” Geerts said. “We are going to be more aggressive than in the past.”

Other efforts include working with university and high school students as well as various immigrant communities to provide movies, workshops and discussions starting Jan. 30, according to Geerts. The union will also be partaking in the National Day of action on May 1 to help raise immigrant awareness.

However, not all of the union’s efforts are being well received. Since the present resolution regarding the reporting of individuals to ICE is not binding, Mahoney is free to report immigrants to ICE if he chooses.

“The sheriff’s constitutional duty is to uphold the constitutional laws. I am not aware of any movement to change the laws,” said Dane County Board of Supervisors member Elaine DeSmidt. “If people have any concerns, it’s important the public tells the supervisors how they feel so we can voice their concerns.”