By Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register
Watch: Hundreds protest President Trump’s immigration, LGBTQ+ policies at Iowa Capitol
The protest was one of 50 planned protests Wednesday in cities across the country organized by the 50501 Movement and Political Revolution.
- Escucha Mi Voz says an Iowa State Patrol trooper pulled over seven immigrant construction workers on April 18 and asked them about their immigration status, raising concerns about racial profiling.
- An agreement between the Iowa Department of Public Safety and ICE lets a three-member task force to perform some immigration enforcement functions. It’s not clear if the trooper is on the task force.
- The Iowa State Patrol provided a citation showing the driver of the vehicle was fined $354 for not having a valid drivers’ license, but declined to comment further.
- Four workers who had their IDs checked during the traffic stop have been paroled into the U.S. and are in various stages of removal proceedings but are legally present while they pursue their cases.
An immigrant rights group says a group of construction workers were questioned for nearly an hour about their immigration status after an Iowa State Patrol trooper pulled them over for a traffic violation April 18.
The incident involved seven Latino construction workers driving back from their job site in Dubuque to their homes in Iowa City, according to a complaint the group, Escucha Mi Voz, filed April 25 with state officials.
The complaint says an Iowa State Patrol trooper followed the van with the seven construction workers on Highway 151 for several minutes before pulling them over around 5:45 p.m.
Trooper Devon Baumgartner then asked for photo identification from the driver, Christian Pinto García, and three passengers, ran checks on the IDs and questioned one passenger about his immigration status, employment and living situation, the complaint said.
Escucha Mi Voz says the traffic stop raises concerns about racial profiling and civil rights violations. And the group says the actions do not comply with the terms of a memorandum of agreement between the Iowa Department of Public Safety and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that creates a three-member DPS task force deputized to carry out some federal immigration enforcement functions.
“We have filed a former complaint because we believe our civil rights were violated,” said Ninoska Campos, a construction worker who was in the car pulled over during the traffic stop. “We want justice. We want our voices to be heard. We demand an end to the Iowa ICE Task Force and an immediate stop to any kind of repression or persecution against us. We’re essential workers. Our labor helps make Iowa a better place to live.”
Department of Public Safety Commissioner Stephan Bayens signed the 287(g) agreement with ICE on March 24. The agreement allows members of the task force to perform duties that include arresting and interrogating people who are in violation of immigration laws. It is not clear if Baumgartner is a member of the task force.
The Department of Public Safety has not provided the names and titles of the members of the task force in response to multiple requests from the Des Moines Register since April 17.
“What happened on April 18 looked nothing like a targeted operation,” said Alejandra Escobar, an organizer with Escucha Mi Voz. “It looked like a fishing expedition.”
In response to questions from Des Moines Register about the traffic stop, Sgt. Alex Dinkla, a spokesperson for the Iowa State Patrol, provided a citation against Pinto García showing he was fined $354 on April 18 for not having a valid driver’s license.
Dinkla, in an email, did not provide answers to additional questions about the traffic stop, saying, “this case is still pending.”
Escobar said the four workers who had their identification checked have all been paroled into the United States and are in various stages of removal proceedings.
“They are legally present while they pursue their cases,” she said. “Their status does not erase their constitutional rights, and it certainly doesn’t justify racial profiling, unlawful detention or immigration fishing expeditions by state troopers.”
Tom Mohan, an Iowa City Catholic Worker volunteer who picked up some of the workers after the traffic stop, said the workers were “held hostage on the side of a road” while they answered questions about their immigration status, rather than traffic violations.
“This is exactly the kind of abuse that comes from these 287(g) agreements,” Mohan said. “So even if the trooper wasn’t officially deputized, and we’re not even sure of his status yet, the mere existence of this agreement enables unaccountable enforcement. That’s a problem.”
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