Hundreds gather for ‘protective accompaniment’ event outside Cedar Rapids ICE office

Organizers with Escucha Mi Voz Iowa hosted a rally Wednesday near Cedar Rapids’ ICE field office to show support to those entering for routine immigration check-ins.

More than 200 people rallied at Escucha Mi Voz Iowa’s “protective accompaniment” event to support families and individuals during their routine immigration check-ins at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Cedar Rapids Field Office.

Escucha Mi Voz held its rally in a “public right-of-way” that was blocked by law enforcement during a previous rally. One detention was documented at the rally in the morning on Wednesday, Oct. 1.

Diego Barrios was detained after the crowd began to disperse around 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday, with a group of more than 40 people remaining behind yellow caution tape at the back door of the ICE Field Office.

The crowd chanted “No justice, no peace” and “You’re a fascist” as seven law enforcement officers stood near the door. Homeland Security officials sounded an alarm and a message that said, “This is a federal protective service, do not come onto federal property. If you come onto federal property, you will be arrested.”

Escucha Mi Voz reported that “100 people remain to monitor the transportation of the detained worker, Diego Barrios, ensuring that no one disappears in silence,” in a news release sent Wednesday.

“This is the power of accompaniment,” said Escucha Mi Voz member Alejandra Escobar. “When we show up together, we not only defend our families — we expand the space of freedom and dignity in our community.”

The protective accompaniment was organized by Escucha Mi Voz less than a week after Iowa City man Jorge Gonzalez was wrestled to the ground and handcuffed by plainclothes ICE officers at Bread Garden Market in Iowa City on Thursday, Sept. 25.

“We are the voice of those who have been taken away from us. We are their mothers, we’re their sisters, we’re their brothers, we’re their fathers,” Escobar said. “They want to incite fear in our communities, but instead we’re growing wings, and we’re fighting back.”

Immigration advocates met with blockade at previous event in Cedar Rapids

Before a protective accompaniment event on Sept. 2, the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Protective Services told the group that they were establishing a checkpoint and blockade, shutting down Square D Drive and the surrounding area, not allowing the group of hundreds in attendance to stand on the lawn of the ICE Field Office.

Escucha Mi Voz stated in a Sept. 30 news release that the City of Cedar Rapids acknowledged that the “grassy area east of the ICE property along Square D Drive SW is public right-of-way,” and that “no permit exists for the barricades Department of Homeland Security placed on that lawn.”

Escucha Mi Voz is encouraging further action by calling the Cedar Rapids City Council ahead of its Tuesday, Oct. 7, meeting to “reopen the lawn and protect the community’s constitutional and religious freedom rights.”

Wednesday morning’s gathering attracted hundreds, similar to the Sept. 2 event. The protests have doubled in size since the July 9 protective accompaniment.

“It has never been about the so-called right way to immigrate. That phrase is a lie, a distraction, a moving target designed to keep people divided,” said Iowa House Rep. Angel Ramirez. “Families who followed everything, applied for visas, renewed their paperwork, showed up for check-ins, are still detained, still deported, still torn apart.”

Evelyn Dayana Taco waits to speak to a crowd of supporters with her daughter Micaela Gualancañay before going to their ICE check-ins Oct. 1, 2025 at the Homeland Security Investigations office in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen via Reuters Connect)

One of the three families escorted by Escucha Mi Voz on Wednesday was Evelyn Dayana Taco and her daughter Micaela Gualancañay. Taco’s words to the crowd were translated by Iowa Catholic Worker co-founder Emily Sinnwell.

“I want to thank you all for being here today. Being inside that building, you feel really lonely,” Taco said. “Hearing your applause means a lot to me. My next check-in is in a year and two months. God bless you all.”

Showing up in numbers not only helps combat fear, but “is how we win,” said Cedar Valley Unitarian Universalists Pastor Emma Peterson, who equated ICE and the Donald Trump administration’s tactics “of bringing fascism to America” to that of a childhood bully.

“This is a win. We have about an inch, we’re planning to take a mile. We will play the long game,” Peterson said. “When they were bringing fascism to America, they played the long game, right? We need to play their game. This is not a sprint. This is a marathon.”

Jessica Rish is an entertainment, dining and education reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. She can be reached at [email protected] or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rishjessica_

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Hundreds gather for ‘protective accompaniment’ event outside Cedar Rapids ICE office

Reporting by Jessica Rish, Iowa City Press-Citizen / Iowa City Press-Citizen

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

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