Four immigrant Iowans were recently carpooling on their way to work when they were boxed in by unmarked ICE vehicles and jailed because of their suspected immigration status.
That’s according to immigrant advocacy group Escucha Mi Voz, which released information on the June 27 stop this week.
“Workers shouldn’t have to be worried about getting detained on their way to work,” said Rogelio Lagunas, a mamber of Escucha and Cedar Rapids worker. “And this has started happening a lot more often.”
But after two people were killed by ICE, in Texas and Maine, it’s unclear if ICE will continue doing such stops.
ICE raids increasing in Iowa
ICE received a major funding boost from Congress of seventy billion dollars ($70 billion) for immigration enforcement recently.
As a result, detentions have increased across the country, including in Iowa (see my previous video on that for more).
On June 27, that included those four Iowans on their way to work at a Fairfax construction site.
Going after immigrant workers driving to work isn’t helping anyone, Lagunas said.
“They still need construction workers to fill those places,” Lagunas said. “It’s not an easy job to be working [when it’s] 90 degrees outside. And it’s not easy to find hardworking people around here.”
“Beside that, they also have families,” he added. “They have kids that are waiting for the dads. So this is a difficult situation with that.”
According to Escucha Mi Voz, eight masked men wearing civilian clothing and tactical vests marked “Police” and “ICE” used at least five unmarked vehicles to box in a vehicle driven by Wilman Gorutt Muchacho, who was carpooling with three of his coworkers: Dailyn Zambrano Morales, Lenin Primera Esis, and Job Guerra Finol.
All four were questioned about their identities, transported to the ICE office in Cedar Rapids, then detained at the Linn County Jail. None have criminal records, according to Escucha Mi Voz.
ICE pauses traffic stops, Trump disagrees
Just this week, following the ICE-involved killings in Texas and Maine, officials with the department told their agents to pause most traffic stops, which would represent a significant shift in ICE arrest tactics.
But days later, President Donald Trump posted on social media that he wanted the stops to continue.
“I really hope that they stop doing that because it’s dangerous for people,” Lagunas said of the policy.
Even if ICE agents ended the practice, they could still get around that rule: Iowa State Patrol has been conducting traffic stops and calling ICE to pick up suspected undocumented immigrants—including two by the same ISP trooper on July 7 alone, according to Escucha Mi Voz.
If you’re pulled over, here’s what to do:
“First to not run away, to stay calm, and don’t interfere with what ICE is doing. Keep calm and don’t answer questions,” Lagunas said. “If an immigrant got pulled over, they should call their lawyers. Or we have Escucha Mi Voz’ number too.”
Escucha Mi Voz’s hotline is (319-382-5203).
