WATERLOO — There will be a demonstration May 1 to protest a new Iowa immigration law.
Gov. Kim Reynolds recently signed a law making it illegal to be in Iowa in violation of federal immigration laws.
The event will be held at 7 p.m. in the parking lot behind Queen of Peace Catholic Church, 320 Mulberry St. Participants will march a block east to Lincoln Park where there will be a short program and prayer service.
The Rev. Nils Jesus Hernandez, pastor of Queen of Peace and director of the parish’s Hispanic ministry, said the main purpose of the demonstration is to raise awareness about the adverse impact the new law will have on the immigrant community and to assure immigrants they are welcome and appreciated in Iowa.
He invited local residents who share concerns about the new law to join in the march and demonstration.
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“Our immigrant people are left alone and are disturbed by this new law,” he told the Waterloo City Council on April 15. He urged the council to make a statement of support “so that we immigrant citizens can trust our civil leaders again.”
Hernandez, who was born in Nicaragua, has been a citizen of the U.S. since 2001. He warned the council that the local economy will be impacted if immigrant workers do not feel welcome and their presence is criminalized.
The legislation takes effect July 1 unless it is blocked by a court order. The Iowa law is similar to one passed in Texas last year, which was challenged in court on the grounds that states do not have jurisdiction over federal immigration law.
The law makes it an aggravated misdemeanor for a person who has been previously denied admission or deported from the U.S. to return to Iowa. It requires a judge, after a finding of probable cause for an arrest under the law, to order a person to be released and deported to their country of origin. It also makes violating an order to leave the U.S. a Class C felony.