I.C. 'sanctuary' supporters say they won't give up

IOWA CITY - For more than a year, some religious leaders and community members have put pressure on Iowa City's council members to make the college town Iowa's first "sanctuary city."

This means the city would offer certain protection to both legal and illegal immigrants.

They would do so by not spending resources to enforce federal immigration law. So far, the city council has said it wants to be more welcoming of illegal immigrants, but will not establish itself as a sanctuary community.

In Iowa City Monday night, advocates for the change said they're not giving up and enforced the message with a candle light vigil outside city hall.

"I don't know if Iowa City is a very progressive community yet, maybe we need a push in that direction,” said Father Rudy Juarez with Iowa City's St. Patrick's Church.

The controversial concept would potentially protect illegal immigrants from city officials and law enforcement questioning their citizenship.

"There might be a little bit of fear among the elected officials,” said Juarez. “Maybe they feel they don't have the political support or have other political dreams that don't include the immigrant community."

Chicago, Minneapolis, Madison and several other large Midwest cities have adopted the sanctuary status.

“They're our future. They need to take part in making the change and making life better for all of us,” said Freeman. The mother of two also said that political leaders might need a personal experience to budge on the issue.

"Ultimately, it might take council members walking a day in the life of someone's shoes,” Freeman said.

Critics argue the idea doesn't fix the immigration problem and hurts the nations already struggling economy, but Father Juarez says he didn't expect the idea to be popular.

"I think there's always going to be critics, a certain part of the population that doesn't agree,” he said. "But the premise of making sure people are O.K. and have a safe community, those things I think all of us can agree on."

While the council has not agreed to label Iowa City as a sanctuary community, the council has agreed to follow Human Rights Commission recommendations.

They include encouraging public outreach to immigrant communities, and holding public forums on immigration issues.

The commission also recommends the city study whether it needs to form a new committee that focuses on immigrant concerns.