“As I’ve declared every time I’ve been at this podium, the condition of our state is strong,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said the Condition of the State Address on Tuesday night. This is the last legislative session in which Reynolds, who announced in April she was not running for reelection, will have the power to sign […]
Immigration
Posted inCommunity/News
Woodbury County inmate facing a year of detention sues Homeland Security
A Woodbury County jail inmate is suing the federal government, alleging she’s being unlawfully detained by ICE and faces a year of confinement while being denied her due process rights. The case is one of hundreds of similar lawsuits filed around that nation against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and […]
Posted inCommunity/News
ICE detainees held in Iowa jails are being denied due process, federal judge says
A federal judge has ordered the U.S. government to follow due process and provide bond hearings for two individuals being detained in Iowa county jails by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Both people have sought asylum in the United States, claiming they are fleeing persecution in their home country. In recent months, hundreds of […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Father Guillermo Treviño, a leading advocate for immigrants and workers in eastern Iowa, dies at 39
Father Guillermo Treviño, Jr., pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in West Liberty, died on Friday. His sister, Mariela Treviño-Luna, said in a social media post on Friday evening that Treviño had died unexpectedly after a brief illness caused by complications from diabetes. He was 39 years old. In addition to his pastoral duties in […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Appeals court upholds injunction against Reynolds’ attempt to create state-level deportation system; ICE deports Des Moines high school student
On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a preliminary injunction stopping an attempt by Gov. Kim Reynolds and Republican leaders in the legislature to create a state-level deportation program in Iowa. SF 2340, passed with only Republican votes, made it a state crime for a person to be in […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
DMPS sues consulting firm that vetted Ian Roberts; DOJ criminal complaint against Roberts unsealed
The Des Moines School Board is suing the consulting firm that conducted its search for a superintendent in 2023, resulting in the hiring of Ian Roberts. The board made its decision during a special session that began at 8 a.m. on Friday. The lawsuit against JG Consulting, a Texas-based firm, was filed in Polk County […]
Posted inCommunity/News
DMPS was ‘victim of deception,’ says school board; former superintendent Ian Roberts transferred from Woodbury County Jail to DOJ custody
On Wednesday evening, the Des Moines School Board issued a statement in which Chair Jackie Norris called the board “a victim of deception” by Ian Roberts, who the board hired as superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS) in May 2023. It was a noticeable shift in how the board has talked about Roberts since Friday, […]
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: Deportation is wrong, period
By Nate Holdren, Des Moines I write this letter to the editor on the evening of Friday, Sept. 26 after hearing the news that Ian Roberts, the superintendent of the public school system here in Des Moines where I live, has been taken into ICE custody. ICE are a wing of law enforcement and it […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘Today it’s our family. Tomorrow it can be another’: Hundreds rally to demand release of man violently seized by ICE in Iowa City
Hundreds of people crowded around the stage on the Ped Mall late on Friday morning to rally in support of Jorge Elieser González Ochoa, the Iowa City resident violently seized by ICE agents as he was working at the nearby Bread Garden Market on Thursday morning, a little over 24 hours earlier. He requires medical attention, […]
Posted inCommunity/News
ICE violently seizes an immigrant worker at Bread Garden Market in Iowa City
Shortly before 11 on Thursday morning, two men who eventually identified themselves as “federal agents” violently seized a worker at Bread Garden Market on the Ped Mall in Iowa City. Neither man was wearing a uniform or displaying a badge or identification as they tackled Jorge Elieser González Ochoa, forcing him to the floor. After handcuffing […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Sioux City roofer held in jail by ICE sues over being denied a bond hearing
An Iowa man who claims he is being held in jail while facing deportation, without the opportunity to argue for release on bond, is suing county and federal officials for alleged violations of his due process rights. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, alleges the actions of federal […]
Posted inCommunity/News
ICE plans street blockade and checkpoint in Cedar Rapids Tuesday; immigrant advocates plan protest
There are plans to set up a temporary street blockade and checkpoint outside the ICE field office in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, Escucha Mi Voz Iowa was told by Department of Homeland Security officials this week. The nonprofit, which assists and advocates on behalf of immigrants, and members of the Catholic Worker have for years […]
