Wednesday morning, May 9, 32 men were arrested on immigration violations while they worked at Midwest Precast Concrete in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. They were living and working in the “wrong” place, at the “wrong” time. The families of 32 men were abruptly torn apart.  Many taken were on the path to citizenship without any criminal record. They had federal IDs for paying payroll taxes but were treated as felons caught up in this dragnet. Community leaders and families expressed grief that people on the path to citizenship were treated this way. It will take weeks for the bond hearings and appropriate paperwork to be done so that those men can return to their families and work. This means the families are out of their main source of income. One child was orphaned because his father was detained and that was the only family he had. He will stay with a long time friend for the time being.

The Bible is clear that as Christians we are called to welcome aliens and strangers in our land, and to love them as we love ourselves.

During worship on Sunday, May 20, Congregational UCC received a special offering to provide funds to help provide basic human needs for families affected by this raid. Members and friends gave $2,000 to support this effort.

Thank-you for your generosity.