DAVENPORT, IOWA (January 16, 2020) — No matter where you are on the political spectrum, almost everyone can agree that immigration is one of our country’s most divisive, hot-button issues. What can get lost in the political rhetoric is that the lives of ordinary people — mothers, fathers, and children as well as members of the communities in which they live — can be changed forever after an immigration raid, a human-trafficking incident or a border detention-camp placement takes place.
Gain a closeup look at what those impacts are, the steps that communities have taken in response to these events and strategies for moving forward when One Human Family of the Quad-Cities Area presents “Immigrants and Trafficking Among Us,” a free symposium, 9AM-12:30PM, Saturday, February 8, at the Eastern Iowa Community Colleges’ Urban Campus, 101 W 3rd St, Davenport.
The event will feature presentations from a range of speakers, including:
- Dr Nicole Novak PhD/MSc, Professor at the University of Iowa College of Public Health, Department of Community and Behavioral Health, who will share her research on the impact of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Iowa.
- The Rev Trey Hegar, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and Tammy Shull, a member of the church, who rallied their community to aid those impacted by the May 2018 raid at the Midwest Precast Concrete plant in which 32 individuals were arrested.
- Shan Kargbo, director of Chains Interrupted in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who will explain human trafficking, offer signs to help recognize it and steps to take when it is suspected of happening.
- Ken Croken, Scott County, Iowa, supervisor, who will address a visit to the Texas border he took earlier this year to provide legal services to refugees and other asylum seekers who were detained at the Karnes County Family Residential Center.
- Margie Mejia-Caraballo, Vice-President of Progressive Action for the Common Good (PACG), who will offer a reading. PACG is a charitable organization dedicated to social justice, empowerment, diversity, sustainability, and community.
The symposium will close with a panel discussion involving the featured presenters.
“This symposium is so important now,” says Nora Dvorak, one of the event organizers. “Those in the Quad-Cities need to be aware of what is happening, know how to respond to an ICE raid, and understand how these raids not only affect those arrested but also entire communities. We hope those from the greater Quad-City community will join us for this event. Valuable information will be shared — information we all need to know.”
For more information, contact Dvorak at dvoraknora@gmail.com. To register for this free event, go to https://www.facebook.com/events/1149027055301062/.
