Chipping Away at the Narratives
Reality is Always More Complicated
Yesterday morning I attended a public hearing about the Dubuque County Sheriff’s decision not to get in bed with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He is now on a watchlist of “problematic” sheriffs in Iowa. It was a busy Monday but I made the time to cross the Mississippi River and show-up1—I even had time to grab a Starbuck’s coffee beforehand! Fortunately, the security officers at the Courthouse allowed me to bring in my coffee but wanted me take a sip before walking it through the metal-detector. No problem!
I arrived just in time to find my sister, Reg2, and we slipped-into the courtroom to catch a couple of the last wall-spots in a standing-room-only situation. I did not realize until it was too late that I was literally “tucked away” right behind the speaker podium! Here’s the local news report from later in the day, and boy did I SHOW UP!
Being keenly aware of the cameras picking up any facial expression I might make, I tried very hard to stay straight-faced and non-reactive. As a result, I appear to be a struggling narcoleptic holding up a wall and sipping my Starbucks!
There were more than a dozen people who gave public comment after the Sheriff spoke—a 3 minute limit for each one. Many people spoke in support of the Sheriff, but there were definitely agitated Fox News viewers anxious to have “illegals” arrested and deported, as well. The Sheriff said that partnering with ICE would mean paying higher taxes to build more jail capacity and hire more personnel. There was a group of detractors—six white women sitting together—who rolled their eyes and audibly sighed as others spoke. The supervisor (?) of the County Board had to interject periodically: asking folks in the room to refrain from clapping, requesting that commenters speak with civility, and clarifying at on point that, yes in fact, the Constitution does guarantee due process for undocumented immigrants. It was a tense room.
My mentor-lobbyist-sister, Richelle Friedman3 was to give testimony in support of the Sheriff’s decision. Richelle mentioned the Presentation Sisters’ 150th anniversary of their founding in Dubuque. She said that they continue to support and serve the immigrant population in the city now, just as they did then. She connected the hardships of today’s immigrants in Dubuque to the challenges experienced by Irish, German and other (white) immigrants back then. She is a powerful advocate, always trying to help others see things from a perspective of compassion and using hard data to sway them, when needed.
One super courageous Latina woman approached the mike and spoke in Spanish about a recent traffic stop where she was pulled over with other laborers and harassed by state troopers for over an hour on their way home from work. Another woman came up very emotional and began tearing up as she shared what she described as a harrowing experience of being followed on a rural road. After pulling into a gas station and asking them to call 911, the car mysteriously drove off. Her 3 minute time limit ended with her statement that “Someone is still out there, following single women.” I can only assume that she assumed that person was an undocumented immigrant?4 The last speaker was an older gentleman who spoke forcefully. He said his grandparents were “good Irish immigrants” and scolded Richelle—and area sisters5, in general—about their “bleeding heart” politics. He then implied that he would not listen to what she had to say until sisters start paying taxes. Then he said something that really caught my attention. He said the County Sheriff’s Department was short on staff because the Sheriff had hired child-molesters who were forced to resign. “Why aren’t we up here talking about that?!” he asked. Now that’s a curveball, I thought.
Last night when I googled the hearing I found out exactly what that angry guy was talking about. Benjamin Dalsing, a former corrections officer with the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office, resigned in March when he was charged with trafficking child pornography. He also happens to be the son of former Dubuque Police Chief Mark Dalsing. Around the time that news emerged, and just days after he was hired, Deputy Matthew Pothoff resigned under social media pressure about allegations of sexual abuse when he was 16—drugging and assaulting a girl in high school. Matthew is the son of former sheriff and current Dubuque County Supervisor Harley Pothoff and the brother of Dubuque County sheriff's Deputy. So his father was one of the three County Supervisors overseeing yesterday’s hearing! Awkward.
A few things became apparent to me from yesterday’s hearing:
The narrative under Trump has changed from violent criminals being the target of round-ups and deportations (remember that?). Now, undocumented immigrants are characterized as criminals because they came here illegally, which ipso facto merits arrest and deportation for breaking the law. One astute speaker pointed out that there are hundreds of thousands of immigrants who came legally but have now become illegal through no fault of their own, but due to the policies of the Trump Administration. In fact, that happened to 350,000 Venezuelans just yesterday!
The good ole’ boys culture of nepotism, sexual abuse, and cover-ups is alive and well in the local context just as it is in the national one. As long as The Man continues defining the narrative for people, then distractions, misinformation, and scapegoating will continue to suck all of the air out of the room. It is so easy to get fall into partisan framing and strongholds of good and bad people.
Showing up is critical if we’re going to keep it real.
A special message from the Sinsinawa Dominicans’ Immigrant and Refugee Committee (and a future Q Source thread).
We hear almost daily from the Trump Administration that undocumented immigrants in our country are “criminals,” “illegal monsters,” “killers,” “gang members,” and even “terrorists.” When such language is repeated often enough, people begin to believe it.
For years, our sisters and associates have worked closely with immigrant communities in a variety of ways. Because of these relationships, we know that these negative descriptions are not true. To counter this harmful narrative, we believe the most powerful tool we have is storytelling.
Each Wednesday, beginning May 21st, and continuing through July, sisters and associates from the Immigrant and Refugee Committee will share personal stories of immigrants they know and have journeyed with. We invite you to read these stories—and to share them with others beyond our congregation. Together, we can change the narrative.
“Showing up” when I’m able was one of my New Years’ Resolutions
Reg is standing next to me in the blue sweater. She is our Congregation’s Justice Promoter who let me know about the event. I got to live with Reg for over a year in Madison, WI before moving to the Mound.
Richelle took me under her wing when I arrived in DC as a newly professed sister. She taught me how to be a sister-advocate-lobbyist. She moved back to her community last year after 30 years working Capital Hill (and I mean she worked it!) on behalf of caring for Americans’ basic human needs.
There’s a reason they say “to assume is to make an ass of you and me”
Dubuque is a hotbed for religious sisters. The city features the motherhouses of the Presentation Sisters, the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVMs), the Franciscan Sisters of Dubuque and a monastic community of Trappist Cistercian nuns. Sinsinawa is located on the Wisconsin bank of the Mississippi.
Great article. Thanks, Quincy!
Bless your work Quincy! We need you!!