Who are Iowa legislators really trying to protect?

In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan granted amnesty to thousands of El Salvadorans, primarily due to the Salvadoran Civil War.

Karla Vaquerano Willis and her family were among these asylees. “When we came here in 1981 it was rough. My parents came with $250 and two suitcases.” Willis explained despite the struggle, she is grateful that they didn’t have to contend with systemic issues similar to those immigrants are facing today. “My parents struggled a lot to make sure my sister and I had food and clothing. We faced a lot of microaggressions, but at the same time we were very lucky.” She describes how she feels now living in Iowa. “Now my experience is scarier. With the rhetoric of our state, I feel threatened as a Latina.”

“We have seen that any time there is a law targeting immigrants it generates a tremendous amount of misinformation and a tremendous amount of fear,” explained Lucas Asberry, staff attorney for Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice. He describes the dilemma immigrants confront while balancing fear, lack of information, and the need to survive daily life. Many chose to wait as they are worried when laws such as SF2340 are passed. “One of the difficult parts of our job is we frequently have people come to us for immigration help and we have to say we can’t help you now. They simply waited too long” due to the fear they had.

The law has caused quite a stir in its short life. Passed by the Senate in March 5 and signed April 8 by Gov. Kim Reynolds, a federal district judge issued an injunction on Jun 7 that stopped the law from taking effect as planned on July 1. In response, Attorney General Brenna Bird marked World Refugee Day on Jun 20 by appealing the injunction. In addition to being unconstitutional, the law promises to result in more problems instead of solutions.

A favorite anti-immigration rallying cry is crime. Bird says she filed the appeal to “keep communities safe.” Yet, immigrants are far less likely to commit crimes than those born in the United States.

Wilis describes the impact of laws such as SF2340 as causing “fear and devastation” in her community. Asberry agrees that anti-immigration bills have a chilling effect on communities and generally do not have the positive impact they are designed to have. “The bill does not actually give any protections to victims of human trafficking. They also think immigrants are causing crime even though they can’t prove it. The statement that this is to deal with crime is not only inaccurate it doesn’t achieve that purpose because it doesn’t offer any protections to the people the law is purportedly trying to protect.”

As a social worker, Willis worries about the impact this will have on families and the entire community. “The fear in the community creates a constant toxic stress especially for children in families who have mixed documentation status. This constant stress raises cortisol levels.” And she says it will impact other victims. “The Latino community is already afraid of the police. They won’t call them if there is a crime. Those experiencing domestic violence won’t want to get assistance because they are afraid of the police.”

Asberry points out that Iowa legislators had an opportunity to protect victims in Iowa. “There was only one amendment proposed, and it was to create an exception for victims seeking relief due to domestic violence.” And what happened? “It was rejected.”

While some police departments have publicly stated that they will not be able to enforce this law if it does move forward, Asberry says that does not offer much comfort in the community. “Police policy can change in a moment. They are not bound by any promise,” and he points out that due to overlapping jurisdictions and porous surrounding communities, what one department does won’t impact how other municipal, county, and state law enforcement departments will enforce the law. “One person’s promise it is also not a guarantee of safety to anyone and especially to those people who might live in more rural parts of Iowa.”

Additionally, with such claims about crime concerns, it is not logical to further burden police resources. “Every police department should be incredibly concerned,” Asberry says.“I have worked in immigration for years and it will take me months to figure out what someone’s status is. They want deputies to make these determinations on the side of the road. It is absurd and borders on impossible.”

Willis wants Iowa politicians to stop playing politics with people’s lives. But she is also grateful for the feeling of community she experienced at the protest on Jun 1. “As an immigrant myself from El Salvador, it felt good to have a mix of people, the energy of the day felt empowering. It felt great to be part of a group and I loved having my daughter Maya by my side.”

Maya Serio also has a lot of emotions coming out of the event. “When we got there, there weren’t very many people. Then a bus came and a lot of people came out, chanting and holding a bunch of signs. It kind of felt like it was very important for us to show our support to other people that may be facing the issue. I felt proud to be there.” She credits her mom for her desire to participate. “My mom is very involved, and she wants to be a part of this and if I can, I like to be a part of it, too.”

Asberry wants Iowans to know “There are people fighting and the judges are listening. As much as the Iowa Legislature wants people to be afraid because of their immigration status we are still here -we are still fighting for them.”

It seems as if Iowa would better spend its time fixing real problems instead of separating families, blocking congressional attempts at the federal level to fix the situation, and wasting taxpayer resources.

Chris Espersen is a Gazette editorial fellow. chris.espersen@thegazette.com