A large crowd gathered outside the ICE field office in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday morning to show support for the immigrants. One person who had arrived as part of carpool of 10 from Dubuque told Little Village that no one in her group knew any of the immigrants who had to report to the ICE office Tuesday, but all of them felt it was important to make the 70-mile drive to show solidarity with those facing the intimidating bureaucratic process.
Escucha Mi Voz Iowa, a nonprofit that advocates on behalf of and assists immigrants, and the Catholic Worker House of Iowa City have been organizing accompaniments for immigrants checking in with ICE on a monthly basis, but Tuesday’s was a little different. It was done in conjunction with the Catholic Church’s “You Are Not Alone” initiative, which seeks to assure immigrants and refugees that they have the support of the church.
Members of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Iowa City and St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Coralville helped lead the crowd of approximately 100 in song, including a Spanish language version of “We Shall Not Be Moved.”
Deacon Angel Hernandez of St. Patrick’s offered prayers in both English and Spanish.
“May God always bless the families that are coming here,” he said. “All they want is just a better journey for their children and for generations to come.”
Bishop Dennis Walsh of the Diocese of Davenport also sang and prayed with those who gathered outside the ICE office at 3351 Square D Dr SW early Tuesday morning. The bishop said he wanted to offer care and support to immigrants checking in with ICE. He also addressed the crowd, speaking about the stance on immigration he and his fellow Iowa Catholic bishops stated in a pastoral letter they published last September.
In the 16-page letter, Walsh, along with the bishops of Des Moines, Sioux City and the archbishop of Dubuque called immigration “a moral and political issue that should evoke responses shaped by justice, charity, and respect for human dignity.”
“The right to migrate has long been affirmed in Catholic moral teaching,” the church leaders wrote. They cited a 1963 encyclical by Pope John XXIII that stated “every human being has the right to freedom of movement and of residence within the confines of his own state. When there are just reasons in favor of it, he must be permitted to migrate to other countries and take up residence there,” as well as statements and doctrines advanced by Pope John Paul II, Pope Francis and the current pope, the Chicago-born Leo XIV.
In their letter, the four bishops recognized that “nations have the right to regulate their borders for the sake of the common good” but cautioned “the security of a nation can never be used as an excuse to violate the dignity and human rights of migrants, including the right to due process under law.”
“Nor should economic expediency be the gauge of persons’ worth,” they added.
The bishops’ letter was in accordance with the special message defending the rights of immigrants issued two months later by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
“We are disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement,” the bishops wrote in their message, which was approved by a vote of 216 to 5. “We are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants. We are concerned about the conditions in detention centers and the lack of access to pastoral care.”
Bishop Walsh tried to extend his pastoral care on Tuesday from outside the federal building to the area inside where immigrants were taken for their meetings with ICE. Six families had requested accompaniment from Escucha Mi Voz, and the bishop attempted to accompany a family inside but was stopped at the building’s entrance by a security officer. After the officer called for instructions on whether or not to admit the bishop, Walsh was turned away.
“I did give them my card,” the bishop told Little Village. Walsh asked the security officer to give the card to the agent in charge of the ICE field office and ask the agent to call him.
Walsh said he wanted to speak to the official “to articulate the importance of pastoral accompaniment … People come here frightened and they have a right to pastoral care from their priest and their bishop.”
Members of the clergy from many denominations and groups from local churches are regular participants in these monthly demonstrations of support for immigrants at the ICE office. They have also been involved in protests against the Trump administration’s immigration policies and the violent actions of ICE.
Last week, Rev. Jonathan Heifner, the lead pastor of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Cedar Rapids, and a multi-denominational group of clergy members delivered a letter to Rep. Ashley Hinson’s Cedar Rapids office. The letter, signed by 50 Iowa religious leaders, asked Hinson to meet with clergy members and immigrant families to discuss issues related to immigration policies and ICE.
Heifner and fellow clergy members weren’t able to present the letter to Hinson directly, but gave it to her Cedar Rapids staff. Asked on Tuesday if he had received any response from the either the representative or her staff yet, Heifner said, “No.”
“I’ve also requested a meeting with Rep. Hinson twice through the portal on her congressional site,” the pastor told Little Village in a phone interview. “I haven’t received a response to those either.”
Heifner said he remains hopeful he will hear from his representative.
Escucha Mi Voz has launched an online petition based on the letter that was delivered to Hinson.
Additional reporting by Nicole Yeager
