Gonzalez-Alvarez

As a young child, Maria Gonzalez-Alvarez came to the U.S. from Michoacan, Mexico, first landing in California and later settling in Marshalltown. Gonzalez-Alvarez, her mother and her brother were undocumented, a situation that grew dire in 2006. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided the local meatpacking plant and arrested her mother, who was later released. The incident spurred Gonzalez-Alvarez to co-found Immigrant Allies.

Since that time, she’s served as a disaster case manager for the tornado and derecho programs at Mid-Iowa Community Action. More recently, she worked as the match support specialist at Heart of Iowa Big Brothers Big Sisters. Now, she’s taken the culmination of those experiences for a new role: community organizer at the Des Moines-based Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice (MMJ).

“Our immigration system is always changing and developing. Since 2006, I’ve been learning some of these changes that affect our community: what is the best way that we can help people, educate people on their rights, (and) lead them to the correct information,” she said. “Whether it’s Immigrant Allies or the coalition, we want to make sure that the correct information is shared within the community. This is trying to identify other people that perhaps have gone through or are going through similar things I have, and being able to help empower their voice and perhaps even open those doors of leadership.”

She credits DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) for allowing her the opportunity to get a driver’s license, work full-time and pursue an education and career, later becoming a permanent resident of the United States in 2019.

“I was the translator in my household until we all started to learn English,” she said. “We went through immigration procedures. I’m a resident, but am still in the process of becoming a citizen even though I’ve been here all this time. I want people to be able to put a face to what it means to be an immigrant.”

Iowa MMJ provides assistance with asylum, family-based petitions, naturalization, workers’ rights cases, plus domestic violence and human trafficking resources. Services are available in Arabic, English, Spanish, Nuer and Dinka. Her role will include giving presentations and meeting with clients one-on-one.

MMJ was established through the merging of American Friends Service Committee Iowa and Iowa Justice for Our Neighbors (JFON).

“Immigrant Allies had worked with JFON for our legal clinics in Marshalltown, where people that needed an immigration lawyer to review their case were able to,” she added. “So when this position came about, I knew this was what I already did as a volunteer, so I felt like for my own growth I needed to [take the job].”

But she says MMJ provides more than legal services. It also seeks to partner with other organizations, advocate for the voiceless and empower communities.

“The staff is very representative of what Iowa is like,” she said. “We are all immigrants and we see Iowa as our home. We want previous immigrants and newer immigrants to feel welcomed and loved and appreciated for who they are.”

Gonzalez-Alvarez resides in Marshalltown with her husband, Roberto and their children Alexa and Carlos. She is an active volunteer in the community.

“The United States is a melting pot of immigrants and I feel like if we have the ability to work with people in our community, then people want to stay, contribute and make it better. That’s what growth is about, and that’s when you start seeing these smaller towns thrive, and that’s what we’ve seen from Marshalltown — first generations that arrived here worked at plants doing harder labor, but now you see people who are Realtors, in the medical field, police officers and teachers,” she said. “You see the development of little seeds that were planted 15 years ago and continue to grow. We want Iowa to be successful for us all.”

She may be reached at mgonzalez@iowammj.org. Learn more at: www.iowammj.org.