Several dozen Quad-Cities residents, of many faiths, braved the bitter cold Friday to march across the Centennial Bridge and gather in solidarity for peace, dignity, compassion and justice.
The NAACP of Rock Island County, Quad Cities Interfaith and One Human Family helped organize the march from the Rock Island County Courthouse to the Scott County Courthouse in Davenport, where many people held protest signs, sang inspirational songs, and argued for the U.S. to live up to its ideals of welcoming immigrants and treating all people equally.
Anna Roorda of Davenport read the famous poem “The New Colossus,” written in 1883 by Emma Lazarus to raise money for the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, and later inscribed on a plaque in the pedestal. It described:
“A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
‘Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!’ cries she
With silent lips. ‘Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!’”
“That is our country, a country emerged from the Civil War,” Roorda said. “I don’t know what we lost or how we forgot that. This is our country. This is what we fought for. Thank you, Emma Lazarus.”
She’s active with QC Interfaith, and took part in Friday’s march because she said, “Every human matters. Immigrants have always mattered to the United States.”
Roorda said later the country is not living up to the Statue of Liberty ideals. “It’s like we forgot it,” she said. “At Ellis Island, no one had papers, they just signed their name. I don’t know if we have to go back to that. I’d be a proponent for completely redoing the system; I don’t think it’s working. My ancestors were immigrants and all they had to do was come here."
Rev. Tyler Yost, chair of religious affairs for the Rock Island County branch of the NAACP and pastor of Church of Peace UCC in Rock Island, hosted the speakers outside the Davenport courthouse along 4th Street. The event was called “Bridges, Not Barriers.”
He read a statement that he said has been signed by 56 Quad Cities clergy members, and once it has been approved by more clergy and organizations, it will be sent to elected leaders on the local, state and national levels, Yost said.
“Faith leaders and people from all walks of life joined together to walk across a bridge as a sign that we are wanting to build bridges, not barriers,” he read from the statement Friday. “We prayed, we marched and we sang. As people of faith, guided by principles of nonviolence and motivated by our love of God, the God of steadfast love, justice and peace, we are here to call upon our civil leaders to end the inhumane policies of our government and the violent actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“We stand in the tradition of nonviolence, making a joyful noise in the name of justice. Though we may differ in our expressions of worship and faith, we are religious leaders who are united by a love of peace and love for our fellow humans,” the statement says. “We invite all people who want to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God to join us in this moment of protest.
"We are here to do justice on behalf of peaceful, hard-working people who have been forced to live in fear. Immigrants have added joy, vibrant color and life to our community.
“They should not be subjected to cruel harassment, inhumane treatment or detainment without due process,” Yost said. “We believe in the rule of law. But as we approach the 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, we are reminded that when injustice is law, resistance becomes duty.
“As we endeavor to do justice, we ask our government leaders at the city, county, state and federal levels to advocate for -- 1. A bipartisan review of ICE, its funding, its recruitment and its policies with the possibility of the abolishment of an agency too corrupt to be redeemed. 2. To honor families, to end the practice of separating families and to expedite the reunion of families who have been separated,” the statement says.
“3. That local law enforcement agencies, as well as corporations and employers refuse to cooperate with ICE in their pursuit of otherwise law-abiding people. 4. Accountability for the killings and instances of excessive force that have already been perpetrated and the barring of masked agents working for the government. 5. The respect for the Fourth Amendment, which calls for protections for all people, not only those who are citizens of the United States.
"Our sacred texts share a common call for hospitality, generosity and justice for all people. We are motivated by faith to act and speak out as our scriptures tell us.”
Yost added: “As we endeavor to love kindness, we are horrified by the dramatic increase in deaths for those in ICE custody or at the hands of federal agents. We mourn the loss of life of people who have died in ICE custody. These are the people who, according to ICE's own records, have been recorded to have died under ICE custody since the beginning of 2025.” After he read each name, bells were rung.
He also read names of people shot and killed by ICE agents since 2025 (such as Alex Pretti and Renee Good), and the name of an ICE agent who died in active duty since then.
“We invite all people of faith and all of good conscience to live by the principles of nonviolence as described by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King,” Yost said. “We are here to seek friendship first. We are here to defeat injustice, not people. We are here to choose love over fear.
"We invite you to return to the faithful values of kindness, hospitality and generosity that truly make America great," he said. "We know that many have earnestly supported immigration reform and want to see a system that is fair. But we also know that many have been horrified by practices of this administration and fear what is coming.
“If you once supported ICE, but now believe that ICE's practices are a danger to our democracy, to our safety or to our way of life, there is room for you to change your mind,” he said. “There is room for you to see what is happening is unjust. There is room for forgiveness and grace. We believe in the steadfast love of God who created all people.
“God's mercy encompasses all things. And we invite you to walk with us on the path of mercy and justice that leads to peace. We encourage everyone to make your voice heard. We urge you to contact other members of your faith community. Talk to clergy about the troubles you see, thank them for being here or ask them why they were not. Remember that your voice matters. Your vote counts, your story matters.
“We need your faith, your prayers, and most of all, we need your courage. We urge you to contact your legislators. Let them know that you are not okay with what is happening,” he said, adding people should support local organizations working for justice, including QC Interfaith, QC Alliance for Immigrants and Refugees, QC Immigration Coalition, and One Human Family QCA, Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice, and the QC chapter of World Relief.
NAACP leader pleas for compassion
Bonnie Ballard, president of the NAACP Rock Island County branch, also walked across the bridge and spoke at the county courthouse in Davenport.
“Today we marched not only with our feet, but with our convictions. We came together across traditions. Christian, Jewish, Muslim, all faith alike,” she said. “Because our moral teachings converge on a simple truth. Every human being carries inherent dignity. Our presence today was an act of witness. We bore witness to families separated, to children living in fear, to communities destabilized by policies that treat human beings as problems to be managed rather than souls to be cherished. And we bore witness to our shared belief that compassion is not optional. It is a commandment.”
“The prophets of every tradition remind us that justice is not a passive hope. It is a responsibility,” Ballard said. “It requires us to speak when silence is easier, to show up when comfort tempts us to stay home and to insist that our government, created by the people, reflect the values of the people.
“We march today because we refuse to accept a world where immigration enforcement is carried out without humanity, without transparency or accountability,” she said. “We refuse to accept a world where fear is used as a tool of policy. And we refuse to accept a world where families are torn apart in our name. But our march was also an affirmation. An affirmation that love is stronger than cruelty, that solidarity is stronger than indifference.”
“That communities of faith have a role to play, not as partisans, but as moral voices calling out nation to live up to its highest ideals,” Ballard said. “Let today not be an ending, but a beginning. Let it be the spark that fuels continued adversity, deeper coalition building and unwavering support for immigrant communities. Let it remind us that our faith is not confined to sanctuaries or scriptures. It is lived out in the streets, in the halls of power, and in the choices we make every day.”
“May we leave here committed to the work ahead,” she added. “May we continue to show up. And may we never forget that justice, mercy and love are not abstract virtues. They are actions. Thank you for marching with us today. Thank you for standing. And thank you for believing that a more compassionate world is not only possible, but necessary.”
On Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Lincoln School Resource Center (8th and Pershing in Davenport), there will be an immigration town hall, featuring the Minneapolis City Council member (Jamison Whiting) who represents the section of south Minneapolis where the January ICE shootings occurred.
And on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 6:30 p.m., you can learn songs for protest and action, led by People of Faith Against ICE, at Edwards United Church of Christ, 3420 Jersey Ridge Rd.,
Davenport.
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