"Walk for Justice" event in Cedar Rapids this Friday observes five-year anniversary of Postville raid

Friday, May 10 a gathering commemorating the fifth anniversary of the immigration raid in Postville will take place in Cedar Rapids. The purpose of the event is to remember the 389 persons arrested May 12, 2008 and to advocate for reform of immigration policies.
The event will begin at 12 p.m. with a remembrance ritual at the park across from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, located 111 Seventh Avenue SE in Cedar Rapids. A “Walk for Justice” at 12:30 p.m. to Immaculate Conception Church, located at 857 Third Avenue SE, will follow. There an interfaith prayer for reconciliation and a call for reform of immigration policies will take place at 1:15 p.m.
The assembly is being planned by a wide coalition of those involved in the response to the raid as well as those affected. It will include immigrants who were part of the 2008 raid, church representatives who ministered to the immigrants and their families, lawyers, and others concerned about immigration reform.
Five years ago, May 12, 2008, the largest single-site immigration raid at the time in the history of the United States occurred in Postville. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials raided Agriprocessors, the main producer of kosher meat in the United States, handcuffed immigrants and bused them to the National Cattle Congress in Waterloo. Most detainees were charged with identity theft and were shipped to prisons across the country where they spent five months before being deported. Immigration charges against the CEO of Agriprocessors were dropped. In a matter of hours that day, Postville lost a significant amount of its population and hundreds of families were torn apart.

The location in front of the U.S. District Court was chosen both because of the court’s role in the raid as well as because of the significance of the event to the ongoing national conversation about immigration.
For more information about the fifth anniversary commemoration and call for the reform of immigration policy, as well as for resources for organizing events in communities or congregations to coincide with this commemoration, contact Rockne Cole at rocknecole@gmail.com or 319-358-1900, or Sister Mary McCauley, BVM, at mmccauley@bvmcong.org or 563-583-8989.