Community Voices: Postville Project Oral Histories

Community Voices: The Postville Oral History Project Recording with Pedro Arturo Lopez Vega

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Interview Conducted by RaeAnn Swanson-Evans

Interview Transcribed by RaeAnn Swanson-Evans

Keywords

Lopez Vega, Pedro Arturo--Interviews; Postville Immigration Raid, Postville, Iowa, 2008;

Genre

Oral History

Interview Description

Pedro Lopez grew up in Postville and attended the Postville Schools. In this interview he shares his experience of learning from the various cultures that make up the Postville community, making friends and having fun in small town, completing elementary and high school in Postville, and being a member of the Catholic Church. Pedro also explores what it was like to transition to college as a first generation student at Luther College in nearby Decorah, Iowa. Pedro recounts his experiences during the May 12th, 2008 ICE raid in which his mother was arrested, jailed, and deported to Mexico. At age 13, his life changed forever. Pedro has spoken about his experience in many different venues and participated in marches, protests, and rallies about the raid and national immigration reform.

Interview Number

09

Interview Date

3-15-2015

File Format

audio/mp3

Disciplines

Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration | United States History

Project Title

Community Voices: The Postville Oral History Project

Project Description

The Community Voices: Postville Oral History Project sought to capture the remembered past of those who experienced the “Postville story,” that is, the social context leading up to, including, and following the ICE immigration raid that occurred on May 12th, 2008. The Interviews available here showcase the unique memories of 16 interviewees living and working in or near Postville. The interviews will leave listeners with a sense of how a small town in rural Iowa has dealt with and continues to deal with vast demographic change and the aftermath of an ICE raid that threw Postville into the national conversation on immigration reform.

Publisher

Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa

Copyright

©2014 The Postville Project

Language

en

Community Voices: The Postville Oral History Project Recording with Pedro Arturo Lopez Vega

Project Title

Community Voices: The Postville Oral History Project

Project Description

The Community Voices: Postville Oral History Project sought to capture the remembered past of those who experienced the “Postville story,” that is, the social context leading up to, including, and following the ICE immigration raid that occurred on May 12th, 2008. The Interviews available here showcase the unique memories of 16 interviewees living and working in or near Postville. The interviews will leave listeners with a sense of how a small town in rural Iowa has dealt with and continues to deal with vast demographic change and the aftermath of an ICE raid that threw Postville into the national conversation on immigration reform.

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