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CEDAR RAPIDS — A barrier made of police tape that on Tuesday kept a crowd of protesters away from the U.S. Homeland Security Building in Cedar Rapids — where a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office is housed — could soon be replaced by a seven-foot, chain-link fence.

The fence would be the latest move by DHS and ICE in a back-and-forth battle between the federal agencies and Escucha Mi Voz, an Iowa City nonprofit that supports immigrants, over the city-owned lawn space in front of the federal building.

Rising tension between protesters and federal officers

Escucha Mi Voz hosts regular accompaniment protests, like the one Tuesday, in which community members gather outside the ICE of

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