The Great Divide: Hispanic community in Midwest fears raids and deportations

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A week before the US mid-term election, immigration dominates public concerns. And how do people in the Midwest feel about it? CGTN Nathan King reports from the state of Wisconsin.

Abbotsford, Wisconsin-a quiet unassuming town of just over 23-hundred. Judging from the state of the main street here, it's seen better days, but one small corner of this block is thriving.

La Botana feels more like Mexico City than Central Wisconsin. Ivone Vazquez opened this bar with her husband to cater for the growing Hispanic community that now makes up about a quarter of the population. It's also as a place that brings the whole community together-white and brown.

IVONE VAZQUEZ, CO-OWNER LA BOTANA "Here in Abbotsford we have Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, but we also have a lot of white people, so that's my community. I went to school here. So, this is my community, not just the Hispanics." "A lot of the white people, they love this place. They say it's like being in Cancun or Puerto Vallarta because they have the feeling of music in Spanish."

NATHAN KING ABBOTSFORD, WISCONSIN "While Hispanic immigration has brought much needed economic activity to this quiet sleepy town, the anti-immigration rhetoric coming out of the White House, and beyond, is casting a shadow."

Today La Tropicana supermarket is thriving. A few weeks ago it was deserted. Rumors of an immigration raid kept people at home. In this climate, rumors travel faster than facts.

Calming fears and getting the facts out to the Hispanic community is the job of Ivone's father, Alejandro. After greeting his daughter and granddaughter, it's time to go on the air.

Alejandro was a journalist back In Mexico. Here in Wisconsin, he has a radio station and since 2004, Noticias-a Spanish-language newspaper.

No fake news here. In fact, it's a reassuring voice in the community-especially on immigration.

ALEJANDRO VAZQUEZ JOURNALIST "When ICE is coming, they come for people who have orders of deportation, or arrest or people who have criminal records. If you are a bad boy, man, don't care where you are from."

During the recent scare over deportations, Noticias ran a factual account on its front page in English, too. It detailed the limited and legal raids that had happened.

But there is fear in this community and Alejandro knows it. Family photos published in paper don't have names next to them.

Nathan asks question: "To be honest, then, the reason that people's names are not here is that you don't want to worry anyone about immigration status."

Alejandro: "Yes. People don't want to see their names."

He says the community is counting on him.

ALEJANDRO VAZQUEZ JOURNALIST "It's a big, big responsibility. I want to see a nice community, a strong community and I want to do whatever I need to push for a great community."

That community spirit is strong in the Vazquez family. In the kitchen at home they support each other and the generations to come. Nathan King, CGTN, Abbotsfor, Wisconsin.