President-elect Donald Trump has promised to carry out mass deportations when he returns to the White House in January 2025. Trump has already nominated immigration hardliners like Stephen Miller, Tom Homan and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to be part of his administration. Homan, who will serve as the Trump administrations border czar, has been called the architect of Trump's family separation policy, which led to more than 5,500 children being separated from their parents at the border. More than 1,000 of these children still have not been reunified with their parents. Miller, who will serve as President-elect Trump's deputy chief of staff and Homeland Security Advisor ,was a lead author of some of Trump's most controversial immigration policies including zero-tolerance policies that led to families being separated from their children at the border. Noem, whom Trump has chosen to be his Homeland Security Secretary, voiced support for Trump's Muslim ban in 2017, opposed allowing Afghan refugees settling in South Dakota after the U.S. military's withdrawal from Afghanistan, and personally supported Texas Gov. Rick Scott using razor wire to fortify Texas' southern border. She even went as far as telling Fox News she would personally drive to Texas to provide Scott with more wire. Given Trump's ugly rhetoric and extreme anti-immigrant policies, I thought this would be a good time to focus on groups who already have experience working with and advocating for undocumented immigrants. This is Part 1 of an interview I conducted with Maria Gonzalez-Alvarez on July 4, 2024. Maria is a co-founder of Immigrant Allies in Marshalltown. Marshalltown is an ethnically and racially diverse city of about 28,000 people in the state of Iowa. Immigrant Allies' formation was in response to a raid on the Swift & Company meatpacking plant in Marshalltown in December of 2006. The raid resulted in 90 workers being arrested and taken to Camp Dodge, a National Guard facility in Johnston, Iowa. Maria's mom was among those arrested, but she fought her case and was later released. Maria reports her mom is currently a resident who is applying for U.S. citizenship. After 72 hours, the arrested workers being held at the National Guard facility were either deported or taken to out-of-state federal detention centers. Five other Swift plants were raided by ICE on the same day and 1, 282 workers were arrested. At that time, it marked the largest immigration raid in U.S. history.

Immigrant Allies, which was founded in 2010, has worked to empower undocumented immigrants while also strengthening the local community through a focus on education, advocacy, events, action and collaboration. Since the interview was conducted, Maria also has taken a position as a community organizer for Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice. MMJ is a state-wide legal service and advocacy organization led by immigrant and refugee voices and their allies. Maria reports MMJ is seeking financial support to expand its team and provide additional training opportunities. It welcomes donations and volunteers who share the organization's vision. In our interview, Maria discusses the origins of Immigrant Allies, shares her past experiences as an undocumented immigrant (she is now a resident in the process of becoming an American citizen), highlights Immigrant Allies' accomplishments, dispels myths about undocumented workers, talks about how immigrants have helped fuel economic growth in Marshalltown, and shares her views on what reforms could make the immigration system easier to navigate for people wanting to come to the United States.