Reclaim Public Space Outside ICE Office

The following message was shared with our Social Justice Team — and we invite you to participate.

On Wednesday October 1st, over 200 of us gathered in protective accompaniment and successfully pressured Homeland Security to give back half of the public right-of-way outside the Cedar Rapids ICE office.

Because of the space we won back:

✅ Our members with check-ins today were protected.
✅ Our rights to assemble & bear witness were defended.
✅ We pushed back against ICE’s attempt to shut us out.
✅ We documented a detention — because the immigrant was able to enter the reclaimed space, meet us, and complete our emergency contact form before ICE took him.

This faith-based action was immigrant-led: Alejandra, Evelyn, Getsy, and Rep. Angel led the way alongside Revs. Jonathan and Emma. It showed the true power of accompaniment: when we show up together, we don’t just defend our families — we expand the space of freedom and dignity in our community.

Next Steps — Here’s How You Can Act Today:

1️⃣ Donate to the Immigrant Legal Defense Fund
Help us provide jail support for detained workers like Diego and Jorge.
👉 Give Here

2️⃣ Email the Cedar Rapids City Council
Tell them to take down the illegal blockade of the public right-of-way outside the ICE office.
👉 Send Your Email

3️⃣ Come to Protective Accompaniment — Tuesday, October 7 at 8:30am
Stand with immigrant families at the busiest ICE check-in of the month, bear witness, and document detentions.
👉 RSVP Here

4️⃣ Join Us at the Cedar Rapids City Council Meeting — Tuesday, October 7 at 12:00pm
Make sure city leaders hear our voices directly and re-open all the public space at the ICE office now
👉 RSVP Here

Together we’ve already proven our power: DHS seized the public lawn, but we won half of it back. Now we’re going to finish what we started. Until ICE is out of Iowa.

Con Esperanza,
Emily, David, and the Catholic Worker House team