Tag: Unidad Latina

Dec. 18 Press Conference on International Day of Action to Defend Migrant Families

Unidad Latina en Acción

[PAR received the following press release. The Dec. 18, 2024, event happened as planned. ULA and its allies are organizing to protect CT’s immigrant residents.]

Mobilizations planned for Dec 18 as families prepare for what is to come

New Haven, CT – On Wednesday afternoon at 5:00 PM EST, immigrant-led organizations in CT will host a press conference and send a message to local officials, immigrant workers and families across the tri-state area. The activity is part of a grassroots day of action on December 18 when immigrants in multiple cities across the U.S. will participate in an “international day of action and solidarity with migrants.”

As the incoming Trump administration advances its threats of mass deportations, immigrant committees and worker centers are convening actions big and small to unify immigrant communities, local and national partners. In the face of the many attacks against indigenous migrant communities in NY and the threat of deportations by Donald Trump, Unidad Latina, Hamden Action NOW!, People’s Center, NDLON, NILC, Greater New Haven Peace Council, and CT Shortline Indivisible are anchoring the activity in New Haven, in collaboration with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON). For more information about the activity in CT, email john@ulanewhaven.org.

“Our adversaries wish and expect our immigrant communities to disappear in the silence of the night. That is because they know nothing of our courage. But we know of the courage in our communities,” said Pablo Alvarado, Co-Executive Director of NDLON. “They want to instill fear in us, with their extremist rhetoric and policies. But all they will do is fan the flames of our indignation. And we will turn this indignation into action.”

John Jairo Lugo
Community Organizing Director, Unidad Latina en Accion
ulanewhaven.org
37 Howe St, New Haven, CT 06511
phone 203-606-3484

Immigrant Workers Respond to New DHS Immigrant Whistleblower Policy

by Megan Fountain, Unidad Latina en Acción

As the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a new immigrant workers rights policy, representatives of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Immigrant Work hosted a national press call on Jan. 13 to respond to the new DHS policy, explain how it came about, and what it means for undocumented immigrant workers in the United States.

“This policy came about because of the workers in Connecticut, Mississippi, Georgia, and beyond, who organized and fought against wage theft, sexual harassment, deadly conditions, and workplace ICE raids,” said John Jairo Lugo, Director of Unidad Latina en Acción CT, in a rally with Mayor Justin Elicker in New Haven City Hall Jan. 12. “The real work begins today. This policy will only become a reality if our local and national leaders say it loud and clear: We will stand up for you when you report exploitation, instead of detaining and deporting you.”

“The threat of deportation is like a gun in the boss’s hand, pointed at workers and their rights,” said Yale Law School professor James Bhandary-Alexander, Jan. 12 in New Haven City Hall, calling on President Biden to announce the policy publicly. “Today President Biden could grab that gun right from the boss’s hand.”

People taking part in the national press call included workers, attorneys and organizations advancing first pilot cases of immigrant whistleblower protections from Las Vegas, Nevada; Jackson, Mississippi; and Gainesville, Georgia.

For more about the campaign, go to

Background about the DALE Campaign

To interview CT workers: Megan Fountain, 203-479-2959, megan@ulanewhaven.org

For national: Erik Villalobos, 202-643-7348, evillalobos@ndlon.org

Indigenous Peoples’ Day Wednesday, Oct. 12, 5-7 p.m.

Unidad Latina en Acción is organizing a ceremony and protest for Indigenous Peoples’ Day of Resistance on Wednesday, Oct. 12, from 5-7 p.m. on the New Haven Green. For more information, please go to the website ulanewhaven.org or facebook.com/ULANewHaven.

In previous years there were also events the second Monday in October. Please check the internet for local Indigenous Peoples’ Day events for Monday, Oct. 10.

On the Events of the Peaceful No Ban No Wall Rally on Saturday, Feb. 4

by Unidad Latina en Acción, ulaccion@yahoo.com

We are deeply disappointed by the way the media has reported on the events of the peaceful No Ban No Wall rally on Saturday. We depend on the press to ensure that the entire story is made known, to hold accountable all authorities involved, to fact check statements, and to be unbiased in their reporting. This has not happened.

Our account of the events is as follows: After a gathering of around 300 people at City Hall, a peaceful march began walking through downtown New Haven. Prior to arrival to Route 34, protesters were reminded that ambulances and other emergency vehicles must be allowed through.

Nonviolent protestors held the highway for approximately 30 minutes during which time state police arrived with several canine units. At one point, at least one citizen was observed leaving their car and joining the protest. A legal observer was reminding at least three different state police officers that protestors would move off the roadway for any emergency, at which point she was jumped on by a police canine.

At no point were any lights or sirens observed from an ambulance. However, when protestors were informed of a potential medical situation in a civilian vehicle, protestors immediately cleared the lane of their own accord and did not reoccupy it. Simultaneously, state police pointed pepper spray and used canines to intimidate protestors who were already in the process of clearing the roadway.

Marchers left Route 34 after being given one verbal warning about leaving the state highway. Shortly thereafter, marchers were kettled on North Frontage Road between Orange and State Streets, an illegal tactic in which police attempt to surround protestors with the intent of limiting their mobility in order to arrest them en masse. The march was able to take an alternate route through a parking lot towards City Hall, its intended end.

The march was cut short on Church Street approaching Chapel Street. Local police, at the direction of state police and without verbal warning, started using force to push marchers towards the sidewalk. As marchers complied by making their way to the sidewalk, police aggression escalated rapidly. At this point the crowd was only around 50. Marchers were hurried to get on an already packed sidewalk by the threat of pepper spray, batons, and three aggressive canines. As marchers were trying to make room on the side-walk, one person got a concussion from being thrown on the pavement by police, an elderly woman was knocked down by police, and pepper spray was deployed into the crowded sidewalk without warning.
The police mishandled the situation from start to finish. State police recklessly escalated the situation. As a sanctuary city, local police should be protecting their residents rather than violating their rights. The coalition of organizations involved in this event invites local police to work with us on training in nonviolent de-escalation tactics.

Our message must be highlighted: at a time when individuals’ and families’ very existence is being threatened by the Muslim Ban and the threat of a wall along our border, we are standing together to oppose state sanctioned violence and xenophobia. Together we are working towards a world without oppression. Unidad Latina en Acción, ANSWER Coalition, PSL, New Haven Space of Encounter.