Daughter of immigrants steps into advocacy: ‘It fills my cup’

Getsy Hernandez has only been working as a community organizer for the Iowa City nonprofit Escucha Mi Voz for about four months, but she said it feels like something she’s been doing her entire life.

“I’ve been attending protests since I was a kid, and just growing up in that space, I think, was really the drive for me to be involved in something like this,” she said. “Someone told me that I had been an organizer long before I knew it, and that was because I was the daughter of immigrants. A lot of the services and things that I do through Escucha are things that I grew up doing for my parents in day-to-day life.”

‘Both of my communities were under attack at the same time’

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Escucha Mi Voz is a nonprofit organization that works to advocate for immigrants in Iowa. That work includes providing translation and case management services, talking with government leaders and organizing events like protests and accompaniments for immigrants attending check-in appointments.

Recently, the nonprofit has been focusing its efforts on encouraging local government agencies to adopt a resolution affirming their commitment to upholding fourth amendment protections against “unreasonable searches and seizures.” Last month, the Johnson County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 against adopting the resolution.

As a part-time community organizer, Hernandez has had a big role in pushing for that resolution. It’s something the nonprofit started promoting after Jorge Gonzalez, a Colombian immigrant, was publicly arrested in September by plainclothes Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers while he was working at the Bread Garden in Iowa City.

Hernandez had only been working with Escucha Mi Voz for about a month when Gonzalez was arrested, but she said the arrest weighed on her. It was made worse when the next day, during a press conference about Gonzalez’s arrest, Hernandez learned about the arrest of Ian Roberts — the then-superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, where Hernandez attended school. Roberts was arrested by immigration officials who say he used false documentation of his citizenship status to procure his position with school district.

“That entire situation made me feel very heavy, because it was like both of my communities were under attack at the same time, and it’s just horrible. Especially coming from an immigrant background myself, it definitely weighs on me a lot,” Hernandez said.

‘I’m very proud of myself for doing as much as I’ve done’

Along with spending her time advocating for others, Hernandez has been balancing her job with her schedule as a full-time graduate student at the University of Iowa. She has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Drake University in Des Moines, where she grew up, and is now one semester into her Master’s program in school counseling.

“Being an organizer is a really taxing job, and as much as it’s very fulfilling and it’s exciting, there are definitely some weeks where it feels just very heavy,” Hernandez said. “But I think, overall, I’ve been able to balance everything pretty well, and I’m very proud of myself for doing as much as I’ve done in the past couple months.”

Hernandez moved to Des Moines with her parents when she was 1 year old. She was born in Waukegan, Illinois, after her parents moved to the United States from Mexico while her mom was pregnant with her.

She’s the oldest of four kids, and said that growing up in an immigrant household where she often had to translate for her parents gave her a different perspective on the world than what she saw among her peers. It’s part of what made her want to go into social work as a career field.

“I grew up very immersed in anything that had to do with the immigrant community. I was very passionate about wanting to help my community and give back in any way that I could,” she said. “It’s definitely a lot, and there are some weeks where it’s very overwhelming, but I feel like it’s also very fulfilling, and it fills my cup.”

Hernandez’s parents have been supporters of her work with Escucha Mi Voz, and she said she is proud to be able to represent them as she advocates for greater support systems for immigrants.

“They’re able to see me as being an advocate and a voice for them. I see a lot of them in my work,” Hernandez said. “Anybody can be an organizer and a leader in their own way, and there’s a seat at the table for everyone. It’s just a matter of finding your own authentic way of being that and fulfilling that role within your life.”

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