Thanks, Dan Marx, for standing up to ICE, Reynolds and Bird and speaking the truth
Iowa elected officials should play no part in backing possibly unconstitutional federal ICE detentions
Thank you, Dan Marx.
If there’s any silver lining to the Iowa government’s gratuitous pursuit of a county sheriff for putting principle before unorthodox, possibly unconstitutional federal dictate, it’s that Dan Marx stood up to them. He showed it can be done, even by a Republican elected official in Iowa, both of which he is.
And right now, Republican elected officials willing to stand up to the Trump-defined GOP and its dictatorial tactics are a tragically endangered species.
Just look at how Gov. Kim Reynolds and Attorney General Brenna Bird have attacked and threatened Marx, the Winneshiek County sheriff, over a Facebook post sharing why his office wouldn’t detain residents on behalf of the federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency. Bird is suing him over it, which threatens to rob state funding from the county.
It began in February, a month into Trump’s new term, when Marx wrote in a Facebook post why he wasn’t on board with detaining people suspected of being in the country illegally for ICE. He called the detainers "very different than warrants” and an unconstitutional request from a federal agency like ICE or the FBI.
"For the person who could be held erroneously (or determined to be someone other than who ICE is seeking), there is a gross violation of rights at hand."
But Reynolds, apparently more interested in showcasing her allegiance to Trump’s unhinged immigrant enforcement practices, filed a complaint against Marx with Bird. And Bird, an early Trump endorser when Reynolds wasn’t, and who stood by the campaigning would-be president when he declared she’d be a great governor, accepted it.
It’s of note that Reynolds only took that step after Marx’s Facebook post went viral.
Bird determined in March that based on Marx’s Facebook post (which should be protected under the First Amendment) he was in violation of a controversial state law Reynolds signed in 2018. Known as the "sanctuary cities" law, it says local entities "shall not prohibit or discourage" a law enforcement officer from complying with federal immigration officials.
She threatened to sue Winneshiek County unless Marx removed the post and substituted something she had written in its place, disavowing his own post and saying he’d comply with all ICE detainers.
Marx removed his post but didn’t go so far as to let her put words in his mouth – or on his Facebook profile. So Bird has now sued the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s office, and seeks to get the county declared ineligible for a year of state funds.
What was Marx’s violation? He hasn’t been accused of rejecting a particular ICE detainer request. All he did was express to his constituents his opposition to the role he would be thrust in at the federal agency’s behest, when the targets might be wrongly identified for detentions.
It's worth noting that other law enforcement agencies have also opposed being put in that role. At the time Iowa’s anti-sanctuary law was being passed, Marshalltown’s since retired police chief Michael Tupper said it would diminish public safety in Iowa and, “We want to build positive relationships in our community. We want people to trust law enforcement. We want people to cooperate with law-enforcement.”
It should give everyone pause that Iowa’s Republican-controlled branches of government keep echoing what the other does rather than observe a true separation of powers and – well – debate and think for themselves. So now the Iowa Legislature is moving to back Bird’s stance with new legislation. The Republican majority House has passed a bill, House File 946, that would make Iowa law enforcement officers who refuse ICE detainer requests subject to an attorney general investigation and possible loss of certification.
It’s evidently not enough for the Iowa Republicans who control the state to go after anyone who doesn’t concur with their agenda for Iowa, but also with the Trump administration’s agenda for the nation and world.
This is the governor who in the same breath as declaring, “My job is to protect Iowans” endorses Trump’s massive new tariffs on U.S. trading partners, which could have a devastating impact on Iowa farmers and consumers – not to mention stock market investors. She framed the tariffs as putting “America’s farmer first,” saying she was working with his administration to ease the short-term impact. And she used the occasion to swipe at Joe Biden, claiming he ignored Iowa farmers’ needs.
That takes some fancy footwork.
I find it exceedingly hard to believe that every statewide Republican elected or appointed official in Iowa shares the Trump administration’s priorities, no matter how devastating the outcomes. More likely, and frankly more depressing, is that they’ve caved out of cowardice. Where are the watchdogs willing to speak the truth regardless of party or what it might cost them -- the ones history will remember as heroes?
That absence makes Dan Marx’s courage and resolve to do the right thing all the more remarkable and commendable.
This isn’t the day for feeling defeated. Around the country today, people will be gathering in droves for Hands Off rallies and protests against all the atrocious negations of rights, elimination of critical government functions, destruction of global relations in recent months.
I hope to see lots of you at Des Moines’ Cowles Commons between 12 and 2 p.m.
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What's with all this vindictiveness that Iowans seen so proud to flaunt these days? I'm 60 years old, have lived here all my life, and am ashamed and appalled by what our leadership and even our neighbors have become. It's scary. And incredibly sad.
Nice take on backing the blue, too.
This whole bit about a state AG trying to force a locally elected officer who is following the law to post an ideological statement is troubling. This is eighth grade stuff. Winnishiek County might end up being the birthplace of a revolution.