Migrants in Iowa are growing wary of anti-immigrant rhetoric from Republican contenders hoping to secure a presidential nomination as the GOP caucus kicks off a contentious election year.
Immigration has taken center stage as a nationwide issue, with legal battles set up involving Texas, New York and the federal government. The issue was discussed during the first Republican primary debate of the year and during a concurrent town hall featuring Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday night — both of which were held in Iowa.
In states like Iowa where the migrant population is smaller, advocates are working to make them feel welcome in the community.
“People are people and we need to be welcoming and help them make this their community that they can call home,” said Erica DeLeon, an immigration attorney and director of One Siouxland, a community initiative group that advocates for immigrants and refugees. Siouxland is a tri-state community spanning Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota.
According to data from the American Immigration Council, about 5.3 percent of Iowa’s residents are foreign-born, with about 3 percent of U.S.-born people in the state living with at least one immigrant parent. In total, 170,118 migrants resided in the state as of 2021.
“It’s a sizable population with significant economic impact,” Nan Wu, the research director at the American Immigration Council, told Reckon. “And the data shows they are using their money to spend on local businesses and are creating more jobs for their communities, really showing the heroes that immigrant workers are playing in many industries.”
Immigration is certainly on the minds of Republican candidates ahead of Monday’s caucus. Trump has been campaigning hard around immigration, using rhetoric similar to Adolf Hitler’s talking points, according to the Washington Post. Migrants or the U.S.-Mexico border has been mentioned in about 62 percent of all pro-Trump ads, according to a December report by…
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