Protest Held Against ICE Immigrant Abductions of New Britain Residents and Other Trump Policies

Chanting, “No hate, no fear! Immigrants are welcome here!” people from New Britain and other towns gathered in front of New Britain City Hall tonight to protest against ICE abductions of five New Britain residents.

Protesters called for an end to ICE raids in New Britain, and tied the attacks on immigrant communities to other parts of the policies of President Donald Trump (R) – calling Trump’s expensive oppression of immigrants a distraction from the damage of his cuts to health care, education, food security and other things people need, and from the death and starvation in Gaza.

Karleigh Webb of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, asked if, after Trump, “snatching people off the street”, “Are the the egg prices lower? Do we have better workers’ rights? Do we have better education in the country? Do we have housing for you and not for developers?”

To each question, the crowd shouted, “No!”

“What about health care?” Webb asked. “Has snatching an immigrant, someone randomly off the street, given you health care?”, going on to say the ICE is whitewashing the harms from the “reckless”, “Big Beautiful Bill,” approved by Trump and other Republicans.

Omer Abdelgader, President of the Islamic Association of Central Connecticut, spoke of his own experience as a first generation immigrant for 24 years, working hard at difficult jobs to raise his children and support his family.

“ICE is coming to New Britain because now this city has many Moroccans, Sudanese, Mexicans,” Abdelgader said, “you name it – they are working hard. They are doing the same job, I’m doing.”

“They just want to scare us,” Abdelgader added, “they want everyone to look away from what is happening in Gaza.”

“They are trying to tell us ICE is coming for you. You better hide,” Abdelgader said. “No. We are not hiding,” as the crowd cheered.

Venessa Cardoso of Manos Unitas talked about the organizing work her organization and others are doing, including efforts to support people when ICE tries to come after them.

Cardoso also said that the New Britain school district and CCSU are falling short with action they should be taking to support and protect their students who might be targeted by ICE.

Another resident spoke about the experience of many people in the community, concerned that their efforts to follow immigration law by attending immigration hearings might just get them deported. Why, he asked, would people want to go to those hearings when ICE might be there to deport them?

Between and after the speeches, protesters chanted, “ICE, ICE get out of town! You can’t keep the people down!”, “Up, up with liberation! Down, down with deportation!” and other chants.