Loved ones of Fatou Traore hold a sign reading “We Need Justice!” outside First United Methodist Church in Iowa City, where a rally was held demanding the mom of four’s release, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. — photo by Khushal Gujadhur, courtesy of Sara GilmoreBy Sara Gilmore, Iowa City

As an employee of UIHC (University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics), and on behalf of a great number of community members, we would like to voice our support for our co-worker Fatou Traore, who was unlawfully taken by ICE last Thursday morning on her way to work and is set this week for deportation to Sierra Leone. 

Committed to improving the health and well-being of others, Fatou is a beloved member of our community, and her work at UIHC has touched countless lives. She is a devoted mother of four. She has maintained legal status in the United States and has no criminal record.

We call for her safe return home. 

We believe that families should stay together.

We keep at the forefront our shared humanity and interconnectedness. 

We strongly oppose ICE’s actions. 

Fatou Traore’s 19-year-od son speaks at a rally demanding her release at First United Methodist Church in Iowa City, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. — photo by Khushal Gujadhur, courtesy of Sara Gilmore

Fatou was taken in the dark by agents who never identified themselves or said why she was being detained. She and her family had no warning and could not say goodbye. ICE and DHS have since transferred her to multiple correction and detainment centers from Cedar Rapids to Louisiana. We will not condone this promulgation of lawlessness and terror. ICE has no place in our community.

We ask for your help in calling and writing Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Ashley Hinson, that they contact ICE and DHS now, demand a halt to Fatou’s deportation, help secure her release, and meet with her family. 

A petition is also available on change.org “Call for Fatou Traore’s safe return home.”

And the Immigrant Welcome Network, Escucha Mi Voz, and the Catholic Worker are continuously doing the good work of opposing ICE in our area.  

Fatou Traore, a U.S. resident since 2005 and mother of four with no criminal record and an active withholding-of-removal order, was taken into ICE custody on Sept. 24 with no notice. She is set to be trafficked to Sierra Leone, a country she has never been to, by the Trump administration. — photo via the Immigrant Welcome Network of Johnson County