Hundreds rally in support of Iowa immigrants checking in with ICE in Cedar Rapids

Fifty-six immigrants attended check-in appointments Tuesday, and all were released without being detained

Kathy Siems of Cedar Falls holds up a sign as she listens to people speak about immigrants having to wait in line for their check-in appointments in the freezing temperatures during an Escucha Mi Voz accompaniment at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security building in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

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CEDAR RAPIDS — Hundreds of community members huddled together Tuesday morning outside the federal Department of Homeland Security building in Cedar Rapids, despite below freezing temperatures, to show their support for more than 50 immigrants who were attending regular check-in appointments with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is housed in the building.

Escucha Mi Voz, and Iowa City-based nonprofit that works with immigrants in Iowa, organized the rally to support more than 20 people who had specifically requested accompaniment to their check-in appointments. The check-ins are a regular part of the immigration process, but have become a point of fear for many people this year as changing federal interpretations of immigration law have resulted in hundreds of immigrants in Iowa being detained at their check-ins, and sometimes deported.

A community member holds a sign while attending an Escucha Mi Voz accompaniment at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security building in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday. Temperatures hovered in the teens and 20s as people waited in line. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

‘I want to thank God that I’m out of that office’

There were many more immigrants scheduled for appointments Tuesday than those who had requested accompaniment, and Escucha Mi Voz organizers spoke with each of them as they approached the building. In total, the nonprofit counted 56 people who had check-ins Tuesday — all of whom left the building without being detained, an outcome organizers counted as a success.

“Whatever actions ICE may take today or any other day, we will not be silent and we will not disappear. We will continue to show up and we will continue to stay until everybody comes out of their check-ins safely,” Escucha Mi Voz organizer Getsy Hernandez said during the rally. “Our message to ICE today is very simple: respect human rights, do not detain anyone, and let them all go home to their families.”

Richelle Friedman of the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Dubuque speaks during an Escucha Mi Voz accompaniment at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security building in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday. Temperatures hovered in the teens and 20s as people waited in line. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Escucha Mi Voz organizers started accompanying immigrants to their check-in appointments seven years ago. They said Tuesday’s 56 check-ins was the most appointments they’ve seen in a single day in those years.

One of the immigrants with an appointment Tuesday was Jaime Betancourth, who has been part of Escucha Mi Voz since he came to Iowa from Honduras four years ago with his son. He has helped organize accompaniments for other immigrants in the past, and said he was incredibly grateful to be able to trust in the same people he had supported to come and support him.

“I’m very happy,” he told The Gazette in Spanish. “I know that through giving we can also receive.”

Community members show their support during an Escucha Mi Voz accompaniment at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security building in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday. Temperatures hovered in the teens and 20s as people waited in line. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Several immigrants spoke to the crowd of supporters after coming out of their appointments, expressing gratitude for the show of support.

“I want to thank God that I’m out of that office,” Socrates Alberto Barros, one of the immigrants, said to the crowd through a translator. “Thank you all for being here, each and every one of you, for being here in this horrible weather.”

‘This is the work of showing up’

The immigrants checking in stood in line outside the office in below freezing temperatures while they waited for their appointments, and they were separated from the gathered supporters by several feet and a police-tape barrier that has been a point of contention between Escucha Mi Voz and the Department of Homeland Security for months.

A young boy stands with his family in freezing temperatures while waiting for their ICE check-in at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security building in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday. Escucha Mi Voz hosted an accompaniment event to support immigrants waiting for their ICE appointments. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Escucha Mi Voz organizers attended a Cedar Rapids City Council meeting earlier this year to express their frustration after the city granted the federal agency a permit to build a chain-link fence that would block off part of the public right of way in front of the building. A few days later, city staff released information stating there was an error in previous property records, and the location where DHS intended to put the fence is not public property, and therefore does not require a permit.

The fence has not yet been erected, and the federal agency has not responded to questions from The Gazette about if and when it will be put in place.

Emily Thode of Cedar Falls gives blankets to a family waiting in line for their ICE check-in during an Escucha Mi Voz accompaniment at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security building in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday. Temperatures hovered in the teens and 20s as people waited in line. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

The police-tape barrier was not closely enforced Tuesday, unlike during previous accompaniment rallies, when federal agents stood by the barrier to prevent anyone who did not have a check-in appointment from approaching the building.

Despite the lack of officers standing outside Tuesday, protesters stayed mostly on the public side of the line, though a few crossed to offer blankets and hot coffee to immigrants waiting to enter the building, before returning to the other side.

“This is the work of showing up, and this is what it takes, even when our fingers are cold and our toes are cold, and it’s hard to be out here. I think about the children standing in this line today. This is cruel. We need to be better,” Reverand Jonathan Heifner, from St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, said during the rally.

Pastor Jonathan Heifner of St. Paul's United Methodist Church speaks about people having to wait in line for their check-in appointments in the freezing temperatures during an Escucha Mi Voz accompaniment at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security building in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday. Temperatures hovered in the teens and 20s as people waited in line. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Marjie Zach, one of the attendees at the rally, said she felt it was important to show up to support the immigrant community members who requested accompaniment, and she wished that more people in Iowa understood how beneficial immigrants can be to a community, and how many have already been deported this year.

“People aren’t aware of how many are being shoveled out of here,” she said.

Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com

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