This morning we wrote about how this Sunday–Mothers’ Day–is the fifth anniversary of Postville, Iowa, a brutal immigration raid that led to hundreds of deportations, untold numbers of separated families, and one devastated community.
Today, advocates and allies in Iowa are commemorating the Iowa raid, sending letters to their Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), rallying in support of immigration reform, and asking people to never forget the lessons of Postville.
Our colleague Matt Hildreth is at the rally, and sent us these pictures. Here’s one of Pedro, who was 13 years old when the raid happened and his mother was deported:
Watch this video of Pedro giving an amazing speech:
Here’s a picture with Sister Mary McCauley, of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, one of the community responders in the aftermath of the 2008 raid.
As she said on a press call with America’s Voice Education Fund today:
The Postville raid symbolizes all that is wrong with our immigration laws and today we will be delivering a letter to Senator Grassley asking him to show some compassion and to respond with justice, common sense and integrity to the current immigration laws being proposed.
Here are other pictures of the rally happening today:
