Sinsinawa
Spectrum
A Congregation News Magazine
Sinsinawa Dominicans Cosponsor ‘Immigrant Rights and American Values’ Presentation
by Sallyann McCarthy, Clinton Franciscan Communication Director
Doctor Erik Camayd-Freixas, a federally-certified interpreter who translated at federal hearings in Waterloo, IA, after the 2008 immigration raid at Agri-Processors, Inc., a meatpacking plant in Postville, IA, will speak to audiences throughout eastern Iowa in March. “Immigrant Rights and American Values,” the theme of his presentation, reflects his reaction to the hearings and the opinions he has expressed before Congress and in numerous essays published.
Camayd-Freixas recounts his courtroom experiences after the raid as the saddest procession he has ever witnessed. He has lectured around the world and will share his experience and insight with audiences in five Iowa cities including presentations on the campuses of the University of Northern Iowa (UNI), Mount Mercy College, and Clarke College, thanks to the organizing efforts of six congregations of Catholic Sisters based in the region, including the Sinsinawa Dominicans. The presentations are free, open to the public, and pre-registration is not required. The following is his presentation schedule:
- March 8, 7 p.m. in Clinton at the Canticle, 841 13th Ave. N.
- March 9, 2 p.m. in Cedar Falls at the UNI Center for Multicultural Education, 109 Maucker Union.
- March 9, 7 p.m. in Cedar Falls at St. Stephen the Witness Catholic Student Center, 1019 W. 23rd St. (This event will be filmed for future use by the sponsoring organizations.)
- March 10, 12 p.m., in Iowa City to address the Iowa City Foreign Affairs Council (closed session).
- March 10, 7 p.m., in Cedar Rapids at Mount Mercy College, Basile Hall, Flaherty Community Room, 1330 Elmhurst Drive.
- March 11, 7 p.m. in Dubuque at Clarke College in the Jansen Music Hall in the Atrium, 1550 Clarke Drive.
Camayd-Freixas, a Harvard-trained communications analyst, was one of 26 interpreters who started the court hearings at Waterloo on May 13, 2008, and one of approximately 16 interpreters who stayed the whole two weeks. Shortly after his experience, he composed an essay entitled Interpreting after the Largest ICE Raid in U.S. History.
He recalled his courtroom experience: “Driven single-file in groups of 10, shackled at the wrists, waist, and ankles, chains dragging as they shuffled through, the slaughterhouse workers were brought in for arraignment, sat and listened through headsets to the interpreted initial appearance, before being marched out again to be bused to different county jails, only to make room for the next row of 10.”
In his statement at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, Camayd-Freixas identified 13 problems in the judicial process that he observed, including inadequate access to legal counsel and no meaningful presumption of innocence at the initial appearance.
Camayd-Freixas is professor of Latin American literature, director of translation studies, and founder of the research initiative on immigration reform at Florida International University, Miami. He has interpreted internationally for eight different heads of state, including President Barack Obama and Pope Benedict XVI.
Camayd-Freixas’ presentations are sponsored by a Peace & Justice Coordination Committee whose members include leaders from the following religious congregations: the Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Family, Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Dubuque, IA; Congregation of the Humility of Mary, Davenport, IA; Sisters of St. Francis, Clinton, IA; and the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters. Cosponsors include Mount Mercy College; Sisters of Mercy West Midwest; Clarke College; First Presbyterian Church, Cedar Falls, IA; Iowa Center for Immigrant Leadership and Integration, Cedar Falls; Sisters United News of the Upper Mississippi Valley; Peace & Justice Center of the Cedar Valley, a ministry of Cedar Falls Mennonite Church; St. Stephen the Witness Catholic Student Center; and UNI American Democracy Project.