"Louisa is among a band of counties along the Mississippi River that backed Barack Obama both times he was on the presidential ballot, before, like Iowa as a whole, flipping to Donald Trump in 2016 and growing increasingly Republican each time he was on the ballot."
"In the town of Columbus Junction, where jobs at a slaughterhouse attract immigrants from all over the world, Araceli Vazquez-Ramirez, a community advocate with the local council of the League of United Latin American Citizens, remembers hearing from neighbors who planned to vote for the Trump two years ago because they believed the promises of improved healthcare and other economic benefits he campaigned on."
"What they got instead, she said, was fear. Federal agents are not known to have conducted any raids in the town, but the population has grown frightened by Trump's efforts to end temporary deportation protections for certain nationalities, and by aggressive deportation campaigns in major cities that appear to indiscriminately target anyone who appears foreign. They have detained people just by the color of skin."
"“It's not necessarily people that they know they don't have documents,” said Vazquez-Ramirez, a naturalized US citizen born in Mexico. “I mean, I can be picked up any time. Those in the community who supported Trump kind of regret it, she said, because all the things that are happening now.”"
Louisa County in eastern Iowa has no stoplights and is largely rural, with Wapello nicknamed the “Capital of the World.” The county supported Barack Obama in both presidential elections, then voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and became increasingly Republican in later elections. In Columbus Junction, jobs at a slaughterhouse draw immigrants from around the world. Araceli Vazquez-Ramirez, a community advocate, recalls neighbors who planned to vote for Trump based on promises of better healthcare and economic benefits. She says those supporters instead experienced fear as temporary deportation protections were targeted and deportation campaigns in major cities expanded. People have been detained based on appearance and skin color, including naturalized citizens who feel they could be picked up at any time.
#rural-politics #immigration-and-deportation #iowa-elections #latino-communities #mississippi-river-counties
Read at www.theguardian.com
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