Protesters gathered in Connecticut Monday in solidarity with the ongoing demonstrations in Los Angeles over federal immigration raids.
Rallies took place at the state Capitol and outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Hartford.
Connecticut organizers are calling for an end to “brutal ICE raids that are terrorizing immigrant workers and their communities.” They’re also demanding an end to the Trump administration's deployment of the National Guard in California in response to the protests and that David Huerta, a California union president who was detained during ICE raids, be freed.
Protests broke out Friday in Los Angeles after a series of immigration raids.
Roughly 100 people gathered outside the state Capitol building Monday morning, many holding signs reading “FREE DAVID NOW” with images of Huerta.
“Make no mistake about it: What happened to David is about more than just one single leader,” said SEIU 32BJ Vice President Rochelle Palache. “It is a direct assault on all of us who believe in the foundational, fundamental right to stand up for justice and to speak out on the rights of workers.”
“Not only do we demand the release, the immediate release, of David, but we demand ICE return people to their families and communities, end family separation, and end the unjust deportations,” Palache said. “Enough!”
Federal authorities claim Huerta was obstructing access to a worksite where they were executing a warrant, according to NPR. Union leaders say he was exercising his first amendment right to observe and document law enforcement.
'Tightening in around people's throats'
Debra Cohen, 73, of Wethersfield, joined around 50 other protesters Monday to rally in front of the Abraham A. Ribicoff United States Courthouse in Hartford. She’s been there before, accompanying undocumented people for their court appearances.
Undocumented people are fearful to show up to court in case federal immigration agents will grab them there, but they’re also concerned that if they don’t show up for their appointments, they’ll pay the consequences for that, Cohen said.
“The system is tightening in around people's throats,” Cohen said. “It's exploding my head.”
Cohen said seeing the activist community growing gives her hope, “but it’s cautious hope.”
Helen Virula, 22, is a U.S. citizen born to a Guatemalan mother and a Mexican father. For her, there was no question about showing up to protest Monday.
“I have my citizenship because my mom risked her life for me to be born here,” Virula said. “How could I not? I am a person who can stand up for my community.”
The community is only strong in numbers, Virula said, so the more people that protest, the louder they can be.
For undocumented people in Connecticut, Virula had some advice.
“Stay safe; do what's best for you," Virula said. "This is not a time to be necessarily taking risks, but there are people who are fighting for you as hard as they can, and we won't stop.”
CT high school student detained
The protests in Connecticut come as a Meriden high school senior and his father were detained by ICE last week, according to school officials. The student and his father were taken into custody after a scheduled check-in with ICE officers and are being detained in Texas, according to a school memo obtained by CT Insider.
The student's detainment is drawing fierce blowback from advocates and Meriden community members.
"We feel incredibly enraged by what's happened to the student, and to his father and to his family generally," said Tabitha Sookdeo, director of Connecticut Students for a Dream, a group that advocates for undocumented immigrants. "It's concerning, it's shocking, and we didn't think this would happen here in Connecticut."
Miguel Cardona, the former U.S. education secretary for the Biden administration who is from Meriden, posted a video on social media expressing his frustration.
“This is a kid who ... should be experiencing the most important day of his life, his high school graduation, with his family celebrating, but instead he was sent away,” Cardona said.
He told the student: “I’m sorry this is happening to you and your family.”
“No matter where you are on Tuesday, you’re going to be a graduate of our school system,” Cardona said.
CT governor critical of National Guard deployment
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed onto a statement by Democratic governors, calling President Donald Trump's deployment of the National Guard in California an alarming abuse of power. They say violence during demonstrations is unacceptable, but they argue that local officials should be able to do their jobs without federal interference that amounts to intimidation.
“Governors are the Commanders in Chief of their National Guard and the federal government activating them in their own borders without consulting or working with a state’s governor is ineffective and dangerous,” the statement said.
Connecticut Public's Matt Dwyer, Chris Polansky, Daniela Doncel and Eric Aasen contributed to this report.