Hunter
12/03/25
Hundreds of community members rallied outside the Cedar Rapids Department of Homeland Security building Tuesday morning to accompany immigrants scheduled for a check-in appointment.
Escucha Mi Vos of Iowa City organized the rally, dubbed “56 in, 56 out” after previous detaining and even deporting of people who by most accounts were not a threat to the public and were conforming to requirements set by the US government.
According to a release from the organization, the large crowd of clergy and everyday people braved freezing temperatures to safely escort over 20 Escucha Mi Voz members to their increasingly high-risk ICE appointments. Community observers also tracked more than 56 immigrants entering and exiting the ICE office, with no detentions.
The group said the unusually high number of check-ins scheduled for Tuesday increased the risk of detentions and family separations at what were once routine check-in appointments. It was the most they had seen since they started accompanying immigrants to their check-in appointments seven years ago.