Kate Melloy Goettel, a law professor at the University of Iowa, talked about the prevalent issue of immigrants’ rights in our country and constitutional protections at this year’s Constitution Day lecture in Hubbell Hall on Wednesday, Sep. 17. 

She identified how students can take action through being educated on the Constitution and using their voice to stand up for their community members.

There were 130 people in attendance as Goettel, an immigrant clinic professor and recipient of the NGO Lawyer of the Year Award from the Federal Bar Association’s Immigration Law Section in 2019, opened her speech. 110 of those attendees were Simpson students.

In the opening of her speech, Goettel expressed the importance of the Constitution. 

“There is no more important time than now to be talking about the Constitution, examining, debating it, and reaffirming its principles,” she said.

She highlighted the Fourteenth Amendment and declared it to be the only part of the Constitution which talks about immigration law and policy. She said the Constitution does not give clear laws on immigration, leading to a set of broad implied powers to Congress.

“It doesn’t tell how you get a visa. It doesn’t tell us who can get deported and under what circumstances,” Goettel said.

She addressed the free speech wall, which Simpson student media put up earlier in the day for students to express their First Amendment right. She admired the ability of students to be comfortable writing whatever they wanted on a piece of paper for everyone to see, despite the many hot topics today which threaten the limitation of our First Amendment right of free speech.

She pointed out a statement reading “George for president” on the wall, which sparked laughter in the crowd. She debated that we can speak out about what we choose, no matter where we come from, even if we want the campus cat for president.

Goettel had one main argument about free speech:  “You need not agree with someone’s speech to believe that it should be protected.”

Her free speech message impacted students like first-year and Culver fellow, Nissa Molgaard. Molgaard expressed some students, especially immigrants, may feel targeted regarding what they say.

“We have seen that people may view something that an immigrant says with more scrutiny than someone who has always been a legal US citizen,” Molgaard said.

Goettel hit on the topic of Due Process, expressing examples of the debated infringement of immigrant rights. 

“Due process is not just a legal term. It’s the bedrock for our justice system,” she said.

She talked about how Immigration and Customs Enforcement instructed agents to deny bonds to immigrants who may have entered the country illegally, which led to ICE detaining nearly 60,000 individuals, 72% of whom have no criminal background.

She ended the speech with a call-to-action, instructing us first to know the Constitution.

She called all to raise their voices and acknowledge the true struggle of immigrants to speak up. She encouraged friends to stand up for their immigrant friends.

“It’s important to be loud and to be visible”, she said.

During the questioning period, one student asked what he could do as a friend and community member of an immigrant during this hard time. She answered by reaffirming the importance of voting, visiting detained immigrants in jail and writing letters to senators.

Serymar Matias, a sophomore and Culver Fellow undergraduate assistant who comes from a community of immigrants, emphasized the importance of support.

“Even though I’m not an immigrant myself, I think it’s important to be able to support those who are going through this the best way that we can.”

Goettel ended the lecture by stating the Constitution has existed for over 300 years and is for us all.

“So whether you were born here or arrived yesterday, whether you’re a citizen, a dreamer or still in limbo, this country is yours too. This Constitution is yours too,” she said.