“What has José done except ask for freedom from brutality?” Rev. Marc Schlegel-Preheim of First Mennonite Church of Iowa City asked at a protest in front of the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Thursday. About 100 people were gathered on the steps of the courthouse to support José Yugar-Cruz, a 37-year-old asylum-seeker from […]
ICE
Posted inCommunity/News
U.S. Attorney continues effort to deport South American asylum seeker in Iowa to Africa (Updated)
Update: On Monday, U.S. District Judge Stephen Locher lifted his order prohibiting ICE from removing José Yugar-Cruz from Iowa. Locher wrote that an April 18 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court left him “little choice” in the case, and ICE can now proceed to deport Yugar-Cruz to the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country in […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Judge orders hearing for ICE detainee in Polk County Jail after immigration officials fail to comply with two previous orders for a hearing
For the third time, a judge in Iowa has ordered the federal government to provide a bond hearing for a truck driver detained 10 weeks ago by the Iowa State Patrol and immigration officials. U.S. District Judge Stephen H. Locher ruled this week that the government must provide a hearing at which truck driver Suraj […]
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Truck drivers detained in ‘Operation ICE Wall’ sue the federal government from Iowa jails
Two more individuals detained in Iowa jails by immigration officials are suing the federal government, alleging their rights are being violated. In recent months, Iowa State Patrol troopers and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have worked together in pulling over commercial truck drivers near weigh stations along Interstate 80 as part of what they […]
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‘Exactly what asylum law is meant to stop’: ICE again seizes Bolivian man ordered released in January, plans to deport him to Africa
Three months after a federal judge ordered ICE to release José Yugar-Cruz from Muscatine County Jail, ICE has detained the 36-year-old asylum seeker from Bolivia again. ICE has not accused Yugar-Cruz, who has no criminal record, of violating the terms of his release or any other infractions. ICE plans to deport him to the Democratic […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: Doily decals, graffitied luggage and nods to ‘Cabaret’ kicked off 237 Fashion Month with flounce
Last Saturday, Cedar Rapids’ 237 Collective kicked off Ephemeral, the first show of 237 Fashion Month, to a sold-out crowd of over 100 fashion appreciators in every vibe you could imagine — Bushwick babes rubbing shoulders with suited men with piratical earrings, Gaultier-adjacent bodysuits next to off-duty vampires. Seven local designers shared their visions in […]
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ICE accused of maliciously staging a ‘sham’ hearing for Iowa detainee denied bond
The attorney for an immigration detainee held in the Polk County Jail says federal officials maliciously staged a “sham” court hearing orchestrated to keep his client behind bars. The case involves Suraj Vasal, who four years ago came to the United States from India seeking asylum and was then released on his own recognizance. Court […]
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ICE contract with Muscatine County Jail increased funding for detentions by 75%, stipulates ‘no public disclosures’
The Muscatine County Jail was promised a 75 percent increase in potential revenue for holding federal immigration detainees during the first year of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, newly disclosed records show. In March 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement amended the federal government’s longstanding contract with Muscatine County for the detention of individuals […]
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‘They have a right to pastoral care’: Federal agents refuse to let Bishop of Davenport accompany families at ICE office in Cedar Rapids
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 […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Plain Spoken: Poems to stop a flop in the reeking koi pond of Christian nationalism
Recent events in Minneapolis have demonstrated the by-now-obvious entrenchment of American Christianity in the nation’s fascist movement. Demonstrators at Cities Church were right to see David Easterwood — simultaneously a pastor at the church and the director of an ICE field office — as a potent symbol of fascist and evangelical lamination. Given the breadth […]
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Coralville City Council ends Flock contract signed by police chief after backlash; residents tell city ‘never again’
At its formal meeting on Tuesday night, the Coralville City Council voted to cancel its contract with Flock Safety and remove the two Flock automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras already installed on city property. There had been growing community opposition to the use of Flock’s ALPR cameras in Coralville since last July when the city’s […]
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: Connect the dots and join the resistance against Flock and the surveillance network
By Bryan Clark, Dawn Clark, Justin K Comer, Fenek Coney, Katie Dennis, Joseph Dutcher, Will Gunnerson, Leah Otting, Tara McGovern, Alannah Swenka, Ryan Swenka, Bailey Welchhance, Maggie Welchhance and Dan Wohlers When Ring advertised their new AI-powered Search Party function during the Super Bowl as a solution for finding lost dogs, people were rightfully concerned. […]
