SAU Weekly’s Malu Coelho takes you to the community vigil held at St. Anthony’s Church in Davenport to protest Iowa bill SF-2340. The bill gives law enforcement officials the right to arrest and deport someone based on their federal immigration status. SAU’s Latinos Unidos chapter was in attendance to make their voices heard.

DAVENPORT, IA- In April, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds officially signed bill SF 2340 which gives judges and law enforcement the authority to determine whether or not someone should be deported. On Wednesday, SAU Latinos Unidos and members of the Quad Cities’ community united themselves in a vigil in front of St. Anthony’s Church to protest.

The event included multiple speakers advocating for their cause and addressing their efforts to stop this bill from going into effect.

SAU Latinos Unidos group member, Karen Castillo said “This bill that has been introduced is inhumane. I think it gives the opportunity to create more biases, more stereotypes”. She adds saying: “I feel like this was voted very rushed almost secretly like”.

Community member attendee Jessica Garcia agrees and shares her opinion about the law: “I don’t like it. I think it is very racist. We the immigrants are here in Iowa. We don’t do anything bad to the community.”

Laney Gonzalez, SAU Latinos Unidos member spoke at the event and concluded by saying “We are allies, whether or not you’re part of the Hispanic Latino community you will always have a community of people behind you”.

Davenport and Bettendorf Police Departments also released statements supporting the cause, advocating against the bill that is supposed to go into effect July 1^st. The last update is that, recently, the U.S. Department of Justice has sued Iowa to block the new immigration law criminalizing “illegal reentry” if it remains in effect.