Occurring alongside global protests, Iowa City’s Mass Mayday March, also called Aquí Estamos Marcha, was organized by local nonprofit Escucha Mi Voz to protest for workers’ and immigrant rights following President Donald Trump’s slew of policies and executive orders targeting immigrants.
May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day or Labour Day, is typically celebrated on May 1 to celebrate the labor and efforts of workers and unions, both in the past and present. This year, however, crowds were gathering to specifically protest decisions made by the Trump administration, which has targeted immigrants with threats of deportation and federal workers through mass layoffs and ending union rights.
“I think working class power is as important in the United States as it ever has been with a crackdown on labor, the crackdown on basic human rights, the erosion of what semblance of democracy that we think we had,” Iowa City City Council member Oliver Weilein said. “People want to come together and fight back, and the spirit of May 1 is the way in which we should fight back.”
Gathered at College Green Park, a crowd of more than 200 was growing, spreading across a corner of the park and spilling onto the sidewalks and streets as students and Iowa City residents of all ages joined the rally.
Neon fliers were passed among the crowd reading “keep families together,” “essential not but,” and “end 287(g),” a program that delegates immigration enforcement duties to state and local law enforcement. Others brought their own home-made signs: “Immigrants make America Great,” “keep immigrants, deport racists,” “IKEA has smarter cabinets,” and “eggs are expensive, all the chickens are in congress.”
As the sea of signs grew larger, with residents, members of the press, and political figures such as Iowa City Mayor Bruce Teague and Iowa Sen. Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, and community organizers with Escucha Mi Voz stood up to speak and give their testimonies alongside English translators.
“I have been living in this country for the last 15 years,” Alejandra Escobar, an immigrant from Columbia and organizer with Escucha Mi Voz, said in Spanish. “That means I have been building this country alongside all of you for the last 15 years.”
Escobar continued by discussing the contribution immigrants make to their communities, who, in 2023, were estimated to have accounted for 18.6 percent of the U.S. civilian labor force, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Immigrants also contribute an estimated $382.9 billion to federal taxes and $196.3 billion in state and local taxes, according to the 2022 American Community Survey.
“We are hardworking, tax paying people, and as far as I’m concerned, we are not illegal humans,” Escobar said.
Following two other speakers, one of whom described being followed by a Iowa State Patrol officer who required everyone in the car to present their license and registration despite officers usually requiring the license of only the car’s driver, the crowd of protestors organized and began marching through the streets, following a large banner that read “essential not deportable.”
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Taking up the entire width of College Street, walking past FilmScene as music played and chants of “¡Aqui estamos, y no nos vamos!” and “¡Si se puede!” echoed through downtown, onlookers poked their heads outside of their apartments to see where the sound was coming from. What they saw was a mass of people that steadily grew as onlookers joined, waving signs and stretching across blocks of College Street, waving at bystanders to join.
The march turned down South Gilbert Street where they marched down Iowa Avenue, facing the Old Capitol building and proudly shouting, “¡Se ve, se siente, el pueblo está present!”
The crowd turned to march through the Pedestrian Mall before ending at its final destination in front of the Iowa City Public Library where speeches continued, including remarks from Mayor Teague.
“No matter your story, no matter your struggle, you belong here,” Teague said. “We are not here to ask for dignity, we are here to claim it. We are not here to whisper, we are here to be heard.”
To conclude his speech, Mayor Teague led the crowd in singing “We Shall Overcome,” a song heavily associated with the U.S. Civil Rights movement.
As speakers continued, clouds loomed overhead, but the crowd remained strong, even as rain began to pour. People grouped together under umbrellas and tucked away beneath the pavilion behind the speakers. As the protest concluded around 7:30 p.m., the organizers urged participants to continue showing up for their community and to remain brave in the face of fear.