immigration

The Iowa Senate passed several bills Wednesday aimed at strengthening immigration status checks related to voting, getting a driver’s license and hiring school and government employees.

In 2012, the Museum of Danish America in Elk Horn began the process of transforming their 30-acre campus into the Jens Jensen Prairie Landscape Park. Jens Jensen returns to the program to talk about the progress made over the last several years, along with MoDA Interim Executive Director Erik Andersen. Brett Seelman also joins to discuss a campus master plan that was recently adopted by MoDA, which envisions an expansion to attract more visitors to the museum and park. Later in the episode, we meet David Morton, the curator of landscape at Brucemore in Cedar Rapids. Morton has worked in the landscaping for this national historic site for over 20 years, and he and Brucemore CEO David Janssen join to discuss the challenges and silver linings brought by the devastating 2020 derecho.

A bill that would make several changes to public assistance programs advanced through an Iowa House subcommittee Wednesday over the objections of people who said it would result in more babies going hungry.

The City of Coralville is considering revisiting its contract with Flock Safety, a company that operates controversial Automated License Plate Readers in the area. It comes after the city received a letter from the Iowa Attorney General’s Office that states part of its policy prohibiting the cameras from being used for immigration enforcement does not comply with state law.

As Iowa’s rural communities age and young people continue to leave, immigrants are fueling population growth. Data shows that one year of Trump administration immigration enforcement policies have affected that growth.

On this Newsbuzz episode, IPR's Josie Fischels shares her reporting on how immigration enforcement is keeping artists from the Midwest. We also get a legislative update from IPR's Katarina Sostaric, with proposals to end vaccine requirements and expand a ban on LGBTQ+ materials in schools. The Gazette's Grace King talks about proposed school closures in the Cedar Rapids school district, Iowa writer Christina Fernandez-Morrow on the impact of Bad Bunny's Grammy win and Studio One host Tressa Glass shares new tunes from Mitski and Noah Kahan.

The killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by ICE agents in Minneapolis have captured the nation's attention, but immigrant rights advocates in Iowa want Iowans to look closer to home. This hour, a conversation about the rights of immigrants and legal observers. Jose Yugar-Cruz joins, an immigrant from Bolivia who was recently released after a year and a half of illegal detention, talks about his experience through an interpreter. Then, attorney Lucas Asbury and community organizer Maria Acosta of Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice join the conversation to talk about the rights individuals have when they're approached, arrested or detained by ICE, as well as the rights of those who choose to act as legal observers.

A Cedar Rapids church hosted a legal observer training, teaching attendees what they can do when witnessing Immigration Customs Enforcement activity in their community. Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, said these trainings are only raising the temperature as civilians clash with ICE. On this Politics Day, we hear analysis from political scientists Peter Hanson from Grinnell College and Jonathan Hassid from Iowa State University on these trainings, as well as midterm fundraising numbers and President Donald Trump's comments on nationalizing elections.

Performance venues and cultural organizations are seeing a spike in artists from abroad canceling performances and demonstrations — and rethinking U.S. tours.

Under a bill advanced by a House subcommittee, counties and cities wouldn't be able to issue local forms of identification, also known as community IDs.