Brought into the U.S. by her mother in 1992, Gabriela Palacios immigrated from Mexico City, Mexico.

After Gabriela  had built a family in the U.S., she had to return to Mexico, traveling to Juarez to obtain the required paperwork, complete several appointments, and pass exams to gain legal citizenship status.

Going to Mexico meant Gabriela was separated from her three sons as she tried to gain legal status in the U.S.

The immigration process is difficult both emotionally and financially, she said, and can separate families for extended periods of time. Gabriela was away from her sons for over a year, and she did not gain legal status until 2012.

Gabriela said she is deeply upset about President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.

“It makes me upset because I’m a mother. I have kids and I don’t like to see kids suffer, parents suffer, mothers suffer,” she said. “They feel fear. They feel stressed about what’s going on.”

Gabriela said some immigrants in the Iowa City community are afraid to go out in fear of Trump’s mass deportations. The Washington Post reported a sharp drop in consumer spending from Latino communities as a result of this fear.

Blitzed by a flurry of immigration reform policies, Iowa City immigrants and law enforcement are navigating Trump’s sweeping executive actions.

Utilizing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, and multiple federal agencies, Trump has launched his promised effort to round up and deport millions of unauthorized immigrants, starting with people accused of violent crimes.

According to data posted by ICE on X, formerly known as Twitter, the agency arrested more than 8,000 people between Jan. 22 and Jan. 31. It also issued over 6,500 “detainers lodged” for people arrested by other law enforcement agencies whom ICE believed were eligible for deportation.

This is an average of 828 arrests and 658 detainers lodged per day. ICE began beefing up enforcement with raids in Chicago and other cities. The threat of ICE knocking on doors looms large over immigrant communities, including those in Iowa City.

Rumors of deportations and ICE have spread through local Iowa communities, leaving feelings of unease and fear in their wake.

Escucha Mi Voz providing support

Escucha Mi Voz, a faith-based, immigrant-led, community organization in Iowa City, is providing resources and educational programming to immigrants in the community who may be impacted by the sweeping deportation orders.

This programming and events range from classes that teach people English to legal advice information to participating in protests — all of which have happened since the initial announcement of the executive order.

Clare Loussaert, a second-year student at the University of Iowa, has been volunteering with Escucha Mi Voz for the past five years. In August 2024, Loussaert began working as an organizer for the group, meaning she organizes the programming that aims to aid immigrant communities in Johnson County.

One prominent move of support that took place recently was the creation of a protective escort for immigrants required to meet with ICE in Cedar Rapids, Loussaert said. In a press release about the event shared with The Daily Iowan, Escucha Mi Voz stated that “immigrants who have been paroled into the United States or are waiting for their immigration court dates are required to check-in periodically with ICE.”

There were three immigrant families with a total of 11 individuals scheduled for check-ins. Over 100 volunteers accompanied the families while they waited outside for their appointments, passing out hot coffee to people in line.

These escorts have happened before and are a way to help immigrants feel safe during what could be a nerve-wracking experience, Loussaert said.

“We brought 100 people to the ICE office in Cedar Rapids to accompany some families to their ICE check-in appointments. And so we use that as an opportunity to show up and make sure that they came out of their check-ins,” Loussaert said.

The organization has also trained around 400 people with “know your rights” programming, which educates immigrants on their rights while living in the U.S. The organization has split the education process into multiple sessions: a meeting in Spanish that around 200 people came to and two other calls with English speakers with around 100 participants in each.

At the Spanish meeting, the organization also had three lawyers who were able to provide 40 immigrants with free legal consults, Loussaert added.

“[We’re] really just trying to prepare people if they encounter ICE, and just with that, continue to organize and fight back,” she said.

Looking forward, Loussaert said Escucha Mi Voz is focused on getting its Rapid Response team organized so it can communicate new developments, services the the organization offers, membership, and events to its WhatsApp group of nearly 600 immigrants. It also continues to use its legal aid fund and micro-loan program to aid people financially, she said.

Right now, Escucha Mi Voz is focused on being forward-thinking and organized so it doesn’t have to be reactive in the future, Loussaert said.

“We’re doing our best to be proactive. You know, we were super active during Trump’s first term. So, we have an idea of things that we can do. But also, of course, just paying attention to new developments we already have. We’re fortunate that we’ve, over the years, built a really strong base, so that’s just something we’re continuing to strengthen and expand,” she said.

Loussaert said she believes immigrants deserve as much dignity and support as anyone else, and they are essential workers in the way they aid the functioning of the economy. She added the organization has seen a lot of engagement since the order was announced, and people want to help others, which is heartening.

“One silver lining is that this has really inspired people to act and get organized and make change,” Loussaert said. “So, we’re just really doing our best to feed off the energy and, as organizers, hear what people are willing to do and just get groups together and keep having people show up to events and find other people in the community that are willing to join us.”

IC immigrants fear Trump’s plans

Nationwide, protesters have rallied against Trump’s immigration policies, decrying mass deportations and recent ICE enforcement actions. More than 150 people clogged the streets of downtown Iowa City on Feb. 3 during a demonstration against Trump’s immigration policies.

Gabriela and her husband Marcelo Palacios participated in Iowa City’s demonstration against Trump’s deportations.

The couple said they are angry about Trump’s plan and fearful of the fallout of mass deportations and potential ICE presence in Iowa City.

Gabriela and Marcelo continue to advocate for an end to the detainments and deportations.

Marcelo is concerned about the rhetoric from Trump and his administration about immigrants. He said lumping in all people who have immigrated to the U.S. with the few who have committed crimes is unfair and damaging.

Government data obtained by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune reveals that less than half of the approximately 8,200 people arrested from Jan. 20 through Feb. 2 so far have criminal convictions.

“We always get stereotyped because of Mexico and the cartels and all that,” Marcelo said. “One bad apple ruins the whole tree.”

Marcelo said Trump is trying to pump fear into communities, and he protested to exemplify the strength of immigrant communities.

“We’re not scared of ICE because we’re here to make the country great again,”  he said. “What is the land of opportunity? We march so our wishes could be heard and eyes can open.”

As part of his sweeping reform, Trump ended humanitarian parole for immigrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Haiti, leaving more than 500,000 people already living in the U.S. in legal limbo — including UI Ph.D. student Oriette D’Angelo.

Pursuing higher education and wanting to build a career as a writer, D’Angelo came to the U.S. from Venezuela in 2015 as an international student on an F-1 visa, a non-immigrant visa that allows international students to study full time in the U.S.

Her F-1 expired in 2020, so to remain in the U.S. legally, D’Angelo applied for and received Temporary Protected Status, which allows people to remain in the U.S. legally when it is unsafe for them to return to their country.

D’Angelo is set to finish her Ph.D. in May 2026, but under Trump’s recent revocation of the TPS program for Venezuelans, she is at risk of losing everything she has worked toward.

D’Angelo’s protected legal status is set to expire in September 2025, months before she will finish her doctorate program. If she is forced to go back to Venezuela before finishing the program, she won’t receive her Ph.D.

She traveled to Colombia in November to renew her Venezuelan passport because she needs a valid passport to pursue legal immigration. The trip resulted in her losing her status as an international student.

She was told the wait to receive her new passport would be roughly 20 days, yet three months later she is still waiting.

“I took a risk, and right now I don’t even know if it was worth it,” she said.

Stuck in a legal dance and a waiting game, she hopes to stay and finish her program and launch the career she’s spent years building. D’Angelo said she has been communicating with the UI’s International Programs office to return her international student status, and she is working with a lawyer who works with the university’s legal service.

RELATED: Iowa City immigration, resettlement programs worry of fallout of Trump;s immigration plans

Those legal fees, however, are pricy, she said, and coupled with student fees, the financial strain is overwhelming. If she is unable to reinstate her condition as an international student or obtain a new work permit, D’Angelo said she will no longer be able to work as a teaching assistant or for financial assistance.

While she is in the process, she won’t be forced to leave the U.S., but she won’t be able to work to offset costs. D’Angelo has launched a GoFundMe to counter the costs tied to pursuing legal citizenship and costs of education. So far, her page has raised over $3,500.

D’Angelo said the entire situation is massively overwhelming.

“I’m always in survival mode, basically,” she said.

Rumors of deportation, ICE spark concern

Fears around deportations heightened after the circulation of a video on social media of Iowa State Patrol vehicles in Johnson County on Jan. 21. Escucha Mi Voz received multiple calls reporting potential ICE vehicles following the circulation of the video that reported similar cars around the county, including at the West Liberty Police Department.

Joshua Hauser, West Liberty chief of police, told the The Daily Iowan on Jan. 22 the presence of state patrol vehicles at the police department was unrelated to the mass deportations occurring across the country at the time.

Hauser said there was no ICE activity in town to his knowledge, and the state patrol agent was at the police department to discuss community involvement.

In University Heights, where similar vehicles were also seen and reported to Escucha Mi Voz, the University Heights Police Department also did not know of ICE activity in the area. Officer Rafeek Yassin said, when federal agents visit and need to report in, they typically come to the police department and an email is sent to officers. Yassin said he hadn’t received any news of that happening as of Jan. 22.

Since then, arrests have taken place around the state, including in Polk County, according to The Des Moines Register. It is unclear whether all police departments across the state will aid ICE in its operations.

In Iowa City, the police department has stated it is “not involved with matters involving immigration and questions about federal enforcement efforts would best be answered by our federal partners,” according to a statement shared with the DI by Iowa City Public Safety Information Officer Lee Hermiston.

“The mission of the Iowa City Police Department remains unchanged: to work with all members of the community, to protect with courage and compassion, and to empower all victims of crime,” the statement said.

Johnson County Sheriff Brad Kunkel shared a similar message in an email statement to the DI, writing that the Sheriff’s Office’s focus and priority continues to be public safety and the protection of crime victims.

“Our job is to enforce the laws of the State of Iowa faithfully and impartially. We reinforce this mindset through the culture we’ve built in the workplace and through the policies that lay out the expectations and manner in which we do our jobs. We have worked hard to build trust across the county and throughout the communities we serve; we will always work in the direction of trust,” Kunkel wrote.

Kunkel said while immigration is a top priority for the White House, it has not changed the Sheriff’s Office’s day-to-day operations or priorities. The office does not have any additional duties or responsibilities related to immigration or any sort of authority to enforce federal immigration law, he wrote.

Additionally, Kunkel wrote that Iowa Code 27A clarifies local agencies cannot have a policy that discourages enforcement of immigration law and that those agencies are required to provide reasonable and necessary cooperation with immigration officials.

The law also includes direction that agencies are barred from asking crime victims what their immigration status or nation of origin is “unless it is pertinent to the investigation and that discrimination is prohibited in enforcement of immigration laws,” Kunkel wrote.

“This code clearly states that a detainer request must be accompanied by a warrant or removal order and that law enforcement shall fully comply with the request. A detainer alone is not enough,” Kunkel wrote. “In short, Iowa Code is very clear and my office will follow the law.”

While the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office will adhere to the code, Kunkel said he wants migrants in the county to continue to feel as though they can use the office’s services.

“I have worked hard to build trusting relationships with the migrant community and that work never stops,” Kunkel wrote. “Migrants are valuable members of our community, and I want to ensure they feel safe calling my office when they need help in an emergency. I take my oath very seriously and often remind myself of those very words.”

Iowa governor signals support for Trump’s plans

Before the president took office, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds instructed top state law enforcement officials to “fully cooperate and assist” with federal agencies carrying out deportations enforced by Trump.

Reynolds sent a memo on Jan. 17 to Iowa Department of Public Safety commissioner Stephan Bayens and Director of the Iowa Department of Corrections BEth Skinner to ensure the departments were prepared to uphold federal immigration policies.

The memo instructed Iowa’s law enforcement officials to guarantee their departments will:

• Fully cooperate and assist, within the scope of the law, with investigation efforts by the federal Justice and Homeland Security departments
• Contact Homeland Security and the DOJ if an ongoing criminal investigation results in the apprehension of people where a “reasonable suspicion exists” that federal immigration laws have been violated
• Honor detainer requests from Homeland Security to aid with the transfer of someone to immigration authorities
• Notify ICE when a person will be released from criminal custody and keep them in custody to facilitate a transfer to the requesting authority

Reynolds has also enacted four deployment operations of Iowa State Patrol Officers and Iowa National Guardsmen to the U.S.-Mexico southern border since 2021.

The governor also signed an immigration enforcement bill into law in April 2024 which allows state and local police to arrest undocumented immigrants who illegally reenter the country. Senate File 2340 was ruled unconstitutional and blocked by a federal judge three months later.

Emma Winger, the deputy legal director of the American Immigration Council — a non-profit organization advocating for immigration reform — described the law as cruel and said in an email to the DI the law would have “completely upended the balance of power between states and the federal government in immigration enforcement.”

Winger said in the email that there is an ongoing effort by the Trump administration to empower states to enforce immigration laws, which “throws our immigration system into deeper chaos and is dangerous because people will be afraid to report crimes to law enforcement.

“It’s deeply concerning that several recent actions by the Trump administration may pave the way towards allowing state and local police to play a bigger role in immigration enforcement,” Winger said in the email.

Iowa is currently home to roughly 105,000 immigrants lacking permanent legal status. Many, such as D’Angelo, are pursuing different avenues to citizenship and wish to stay in the U.S. to continue to live the lives they’ve built.

Ideally, UI Ph.D. student D’Angelo said she would like to finish out her education and continue to work at the university and live in Iowa City.

“I feel very supported, but I also feel overwhelmed because it’s distracting me from the things that I have to do,” she said. “Venezuelans shouldn’t have to go through all this, because there are many like me.”