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Iowa City march shows support for immigrants
‘We’re at a time where we have to get out and be loud,’ protester says
May. 2, 2025 11:07 am
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IOWA CITY — Four years ago, Sidia Mendoza, a widow and single mother, walked with a migrant caravan nearly 2,000 miles from her home in Honduras to the U.S./Mexican border so that she could seek a better life for herself and her children. This week, she walked once again for her desire to live and work here.
Mendoza was one of hundreds of Iowa City community members who came out Thursday evening for a May Day march to support immigrant workers. This walk — which started at College Green Park and ended outside the Iowa City Pedestrian Mall — was much shorter than her previous march, but she said it was a reminder of the difficult journey. This time, though, she said she was grateful to be surrounded by so many community members.
“It feels beautiful,” Mendoza said in Spanish. “They have shown their support for us as immigrants.”
The march was organized by Escucha Mi Voz, an Iowa City nonprofit, as a call to end the mass deportations being enacted across the country by the Trump administration, and as a means of showing support to Iowa City immigrants.
Before the march started, attendees gathered in College Green Park to hear from Escucha Mi Voz organizers, who spoke in English and Spanish. One organizer, Ninoska Campos, told the story of a traffic stop that she was involved in on April 18 with an Iowa State Patrol trooper, which caused Escucha Mi Voz to file an official complaint with the Iowa Department of Public Safety.
According to the complaint, a trooper pulled over a vehicle containing seven Latin American construction workers, including Campos, on their way home to Iowa City from their job site in Dubuque. He held them for almost an hour while he investigated their immigration status, the complaint stated.
Since the complaint was made public, about 600 people have signed a petition created by Escucha Mi Voz, asking the state to disband the state patrol’s immigration task force, which was established in March through an agreement the Public Safety department signed with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The petition also is asking the state to end any deportation enforcement resulting from the April 18 traffic stop.
The task force consists of three state patrol deputies who have been trained and granted authority to perform immigration enforcement in Iowa. The state patrol has not responded to multiple requests asking for the names of the three officers who were assigned to the task force.
The nonprofit has yet to receive a response to its complaint from the Public Safety department or ICE.
Although the planning for the march Thursday already had been well underway when the April 18 traffic stop happened, Campos said it was a well-timed opportunity to bring more attention to the injustice she witnessed that day.
“This was a violation of our rights,” she said, through a translator, in her speech.
Campos said in an interview that she hopes that everyone who attended the march would leave with a sense of positivity and hope that things can change and that immigrants and nonimmigrants are in the fight for liberty together.
“We can count on the support of our community,” she said in Spanish.
Barb Hanke, an Iowa City resident, said she came out to show support because she believes that protecting immigrant rights is part of protecting the American democracy. “That’s why I march, because if I don’t, I might be sorry. I don’t want to be sorry,” Hanke said.
Aileen Chang-Matus, a Cedar Rapids resident, said she traveled to Iowa City specifically to participate in this march because she wanted the opportunity to walk together with those who have been affected by recent immigration policies.
“I thought it would be a privilege to march with these immigrants,” Chang-Matus said. “We’re at a time where we have to get out and be loud.”
And loud they were. Chants in English and Spanish rang through the streets as community members walked together, with flags from various countries wrapped around shoulders and waving through the air. Posters were held high with slogans ranging from the catchy and chant-able, like “Build bridges not walls,” and “We the people have the power” to the simple and direct: “I’m pissed.”
After the march, attendees heard more speeches, from immigrants and other community leaders who attended the march, including Iowa City Mayor Bruce Teague and Democratic state Sen. Janice Weiner from Iowa City.
“No matter your status, no matter your story, no matter your struggle, you belong here,” Teague said. “In Iowa City, we believe in justice. We believe in protecting our neighbors.”
Suleyka Ochoa, a Honduran immigrant who has lived in Iowa City for about three years and attended the march with her family members, said she was touched to see the community support that was evident throughout the march.
“Through all of this, we can get help,” Ochoa said in Spanish. “The support means everything.”
Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com
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