Immigrant allies plea for Des Moines 'welcoming city' label

When Isabel Conn and her dance group, Our Dance Without Borders, was practicing earlier this year, a white neighbor stepped outside, loaded his rifle and pointed it at them.

The group of women, mostly immigrants, was scared. But they weren't sure whether they should call Des Moines police — they'd never asked about each other's immigration status.

Though they were victims, they wondered if police would report them to federal immigration authorities.

"This event disoriented us and it took away our safety. I think about this on a daily basis," said Conn, who is from Oaxaca, Mexico, and lives in Bondurant. "If we would have been a 'welcoming city,' I would not have hesitated to call the police."

Eventually one of the women stepped up and made a report the next day. It was too late for police to intervene.

Conn joined about 40 allies Monday who are advocating for Des Moines to pass a "welcoming city" resolution that would declare the capital city safe for all residents regardless of their immigration status or place of birth.

They protested outside the Richard A. Clark Municipal Service Center as the Des Moines City Council met inside. The group planned to address the council directly, but Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement was too late to be placed on Des Moines' public comment agenda.

"We need to have something for (immigrants) to feel welcome. We need our city to not only say 'yeah, we want you guys here and we welcome you,' but to put it on paper," said 17-year-old Alexa Rodriquez, a senior at Roosevelt High School who lives in a "mixed-status" household. "We need something concrete because we know promises can be broken."

Des Moines' Civil and Human Rights Commission unanimously approved a "welcoming city" proposal on April 13. It asked the city to prohibit police from serving as immigration agents by not taking any action to detect the presence of undocumented persons or devote public resources for enforcing federal immigration law.

It also recommended the city form a committee to educate immigrants about their rights and establish a public fund to provide legal representation for undocumented immigrants facing deportation.

On May 8 the City Council unanimously voted to receive and file the proposed resolution, referring it to the city's legal department for review and possible revisions. It took no formal action on becoming a "welcoming city."

Four months later, there's been little to no movement on the issue, said Madeline Cano, an organizer for Iowa CCI.

"In the meantime, federal immigration agents have continued to terrorize Des Moines families by taking people from their homes, workplaces, and even racially profiling them on the street," she said.

Iowa CCI has requested Des Moines present a "welcoming city" resolution for public review by the end of the month.

Councilman Skip Moore promised the group Monday the city would have a draft available by the next council meeting on Sept. 25. The city plans to work with its police department, legal team and local immigration advocates to get the resolution ready, he said. If a draft is not ready, the group will be put on the agenda to speak in front of the City Council, he said.

"This will be coming fast," Moore said. "I'm not happy with the time it's taking."

Moore stepped out of the council meeting to speak to the protesters. The remaining councilmembers left after the meeting had adjourned without addressing the group.

More than 100 cities and counties nationwide have adopted some version of a "welcoming city" resolution, according to Welcoming America, a nonprofit organization launched in 2009.

Windsor Heights is the only city in central Iowa that is considered a "welcoming city." Iowa City and Johnson County have passed similar language.

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Des Moines Councilwoman Christine Hensely previously told the Register city leaders are waiting on a recommendation from the Metro Advisory Council — a panel of mayors and city council members from 18 communities in Dallas, Polk and Warren counties — before taking action.

The advisory council meets monthly to craft regional policies and stay up-to-date on legislative issues that affect central Iowa. Its members have discussed the "welcoming city" issue, but the group has not recommended specific language to member cities.

But some city leaders across the United States are hesitant to pass such language under President Donald Trump's administration.

As one of his first actions as president, Trump signed an executive order to block federal money for so-called "sanctuary cities" that do not cooperate with federal immigration officials. A federal judge blocked portions of that order in April.

This summer, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Justice Department would withhold law enforcement grants from cities that do not provide federal immigration authorities access to their jails or alert them when someone facing deportation is released from custody.

In Iowa, a bill that would have prohibited cities from enacting policies to limit local law enforcement's role in enforcing immigration laws passed in the Senate this year but stalled in the House.