Escucha Mi Voz, an Iowa-based, immigrant-led organization, is like “a huge family, said member Elida Contreras.
“And we’re there for each other,” Contreras, 22, said.
Contreras is one of about 800 members of Escucha Mi Voz, which helps connect immigrants from Latin America who have made eastern Iowa their home. The group’s assistance includes legal aid as well as immigration check-in assistance and accompaniment.
Iowa City-based Escucha Mi Voz was founded in 2022 and first rose to prominence as local immigrants called on city councils and the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to provide them with direct assistance after they were excluded from federal COVID-19 pandemic relief.
In the years since, the organization has expanded its focus to include immigration policy. That began as uproar swelled over Iowa’s ‘illegal reentry’ law, which criminalized entry into the state if an individual had previously been deported from the United States. Iowa’s law is awaiting a final ruling from the federal courts.
The group is a proponent of protecting immigrant workers and expanding their rights, and has remained invested in assisting immigrants seeking to recoup lost wages, Contreras said.
It has been a “challenging” year for many Escucha Mi Voz members in the face of what Contreras said, through a translator, has been a “very anti-immigrant president and administration.”
Furthering focus on immigration
In 2025, as President Donald Trump’s immigration policy began to manifest, Escucha Mi Voz members led the charge against it in eastern Iowa.
Escucha Mi Voz members rallied to demand the return of Pascual Pedro, the 20-year-old West Liberty resident detained at a routine ICE check-in. Pedro was an acclaimed soccer player and arrived in the U.S. in 2018. He was deported to Guatemala, his home country, a few days after he was first detained in July 2025.
Throughout 2025, Escucha Mi Voz members and allies have rallied and held accompaniment events outside of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Cedar Rapids as members and other immigrants in the area check in with immigration officials.
At the accompaniment events, Escucha Mi Voz members collect emergency contacts and other information about those going inside. Several Escucha Mi Voz members told the Press-Citizen these “monitoring” events ensure someone knows where they are in case they are deported.
The group has monitored hundreds of immigrants since January. Typically, residents from around the area gather for several hours, say prayers in English and Spanish, chant in support of immigrants checking in and connect with other Escucha Mi Voz members and allies.
In early December, amid frigid temperatures, hundreds rallied to support 56 immigrants who were scheduled for check-ins in Cedar Rapids.
“This is what community self-defense looks like,” Escucha Mi Voz member Eva Castro said after her check-in. “We’re not waiting for politicians to save us. We’re training our people, building our own safety systems, and showing up side by side. When we fight, we win.”
Castro has been a prominent voice in the movement since her son-in-law, Jorge Gonzalez Ochoa, was publicly arrested by plainclothes officials at Bread Garden Market in downtown Iowa City in September. An ICE spokesperson said Gonzalez’s arrest was connected to a fraud investigation. He was indicted several weeks after his arrest.
Alejandra Escobar is a Colombian immigrant and Escucha Mi Voz’s lead organizer. She described Escucha Mi Voz members as “holding the line” in the fight to resist and combat the Trump administration’s immigration policies. In November, she told the Iowa City City Council that there is “a quiet fear that shadows even the most ordinary moments.”
“In the back of our minds, there is always the question: ‘Is today the day I’m going to be racially profiled and taken by ICE?'” Escobar said.
Building on ‘a connection to my roots’
Getsy Hernandez, 22, is a translator and volunteer for Escucha Mi Voz. Hernandez, the daughter of Mexican immigrants who has lived in Iowa for two decades, said the organization has allowed her to further a connection to her roots.
“I grew up very enmeshed in all of this. I grew up going to protests against anti-immigrant policies,” Hernandez said. “I was kind of an organizer and activist before realizing it because a lot of the services that I do here I was already doing for my parents since I was a kid.”
Hernandez graduated from Drake University and moved to Iowa City in August to pursue a master’s degree in school counseling from the University of Iowa. She has worked with Escucha Mi Voz since her move.
Over the past four months, Hernandez said the most impactful thing she has seen from Escucha Mi Voz has been the continued growth of leaders like Contreras and others on Escucha Mi Voz’s executive board.
“I think it’s been one of the most fulfilling things for me,” Hernandez said of her work with Escucha Mi Voz.
A mother looking for safety, prosperity for her children
Contreras emigrated from Colombia to the U.S. about three years ago, following her partner to eastern Iowa.
At the U.S.-Mexico border, Contreras said she was detained by immigration officers at a “help center.” She said it felt more like she was imprisoned than helped. After three months, Contreras was released and came to Iowa to meet up with her partner, who had been in the country for about a year.
For a time, the pair lived in housing provided by the Catholic Worker House, a local organization founded in 2016 that provides “basic needs,” as Contreras put it, including a place to live, food and clothing. The Catholic Worker House currently aids 11 families, totaling about 36 people, Escucha Mi Voz ally and Catholic Worker House founder David Goodner told the Press-Citizen.
“I felt very blessed that I was able to come here and have these resources and their support, still to this day,” Contreras said.
Contreras bounced her now six-month-old son on her knee as she talked with the Press-Citizen. She said it might be difficult for non-immigrants to understand how members of Escucha Mi Voz and immigrants continue their fight for more rights in the face of the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
To answer that, she pointed to her son.
“Our strength and our courage come from wanting to see our kids grow up in a safe country, striving for a better life and also just never giving up,” Contreras said. “It comes from our heart and the good intentions that we have.”
Continuing to empower immigrants into the future
Escucha Mi Voz membership nearly doubled in 2025, Goodner said. He said he believes the organization will continue to grow in the years to come.
Iowa City is currently slated to undergo a city-initiated rezoning in the fall of 2026, with the stated goal to increase higher-density and lower-cost housing options throughout the area. Goodner said Escucha Mi Voz members will be part of that push as well.
Hernandez said all residents should “build connections” to the immigrants around them, whether that be at public Escucha Mi Voz events or in smaller, more personal ways.
“Getting to know people in your community who are directly affected goes a very long way,” Hernandez said.
Contreras echoed that sentiment. Looking forward, she directed her words specifically at immigrants in the local community.
“In every corner of the city or the state, there are people who are going to support you,” Contreras said. “You’re never alone in this journey and in this process and in this place. There are always people who are going to be there to support you and to help you reach the resources that you need.”
About Escucha Mi Voz
- Based in: Iowa City
- Founded: 2022
- Mission statement: “The mission of Escucha Mi Voz Iowa is to build the power of working-class immigrant and refugee communities to achieve dignity and justice in society.”
- Website: escuchamivozia.org
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