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For immediate release
Jan. 25, 2016
MARSHALLTOWN, IA - The League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa and Immigrant Allies will host a voter registration drive and caucus training as a peaceful, proactive response to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s appearance here on Tuesday.
"We want to turn his negativity into a positive for our community," said Joe Enriquez Henry, National LULAC vice president of the Midwest. "We will peacefully protest his appearance with a voter registration drive and caucus training for our community to show them how they can become more engaged in the political process to stop people like Donald Trump from stepping foot into the White House."
LULAC of Iowa has organized the Latino Vote Iowa caucus campaign, a grassroots effort to educate and engage the Latino community about the Iowa Caucus, which will take place Feb. 1.
Local students have organized a peaceful silent protest from 3:30 to 4 p.m. Tuesday in front of the roundhouse at Marshalltown High School, where Trump is scheduled to hold a campaign rally. The school is located at 1602 S. Second Ave.
LULAC and Immigrant Allies are hosting an open house caucus training and voter registration event from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Midnight Ballroom, 1700 S. Center St. Number 2. Marchers will return from the campaign rally about 4 p.m. There will be information about how to caucus and how to register to vote, and representatives from campaigns will be available to answer questions and distribute information.
From 4:30 to 5 p.m., campaign representatives will speak, and supporters will share why they are supporting a particular candidate. Attendees can then ask questions.
"We are encouraging people in Marshalltown to 'spread the love' in the next couple of days by posting welcoming messages about immigrants in response to the personal pain that the hateful rhetoric of Trump and his supporters has caused immigrants and members of the Latino community," Joa LaVille, president of Immigrant Allies, said.
Immigrant Allies formed in 2010 by a diverse group of members from the Marshalltown community, including immigrant leaders.
Messages can be posted to the Immigrant Allies Facebook page or emailed to the organization: immigrantallies@yahoo.com.
"Many of us wanted to have an alternative to channel this powerful energy into something positive, to encourage students and other community members to take action for something," LaVille said.
LULAC has reached out to more than 43,000 registered Latino voters in Iowa through the Latino Vote Iowa campaign to inform them about the caucuses. LULAC wants between 10,000 to 20,000 Latinos to participate in the caucuses. About 200,000 Iowans are expected to participate in both the Democratic and Republican caucuses.
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation's largest and oldest civil rights volunteer-based organization that empowers Hispanic Americans and builds strong Latino communities. Headquartered in Washington, D.C. with 1,000 councils around the United States and Puerto Rico, LULAC's programs, services and advocacy address the most important issues for Latinos, meeting critical needs of today and the future. For more information, visit www.LULAC.org, www.LULAC.org/facebook and www.LULAC.org/twitter.
For more information, contact Joe Enriquez Henry at 515.208.7312; or Melissa Walker at 515.681.7731 or mwmediaconsultants@yahoo.com, or visit www.lulaciowa.org.
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