Undeterred by the cold, more than 150 immigrant rights supporters marched from Hartford City Hall to the state Capitol on Monday to show solidarity with 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 immigrant communities.
鈥淥ur immigrant community is under attack, and that鈥檚 why we marched, and that鈥檚 why we鈥檙e standing here together today,鈥� said Juan Fonseca Tapia, one of the demonstration organizers. 鈥淗ate has no home here, and we want to send a clear and loud message: We stand with immigrants. Immigrants are welcome here.鈥�
Some elected officials addressed the crowd.
鈥淲e are a city that loves all, that welcomes all, that protects all,鈥� said Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam. 鈥淲e are a city with an immigrant mayor who鈥檚 the son of refugees.鈥�
State Rep. Hubert Delany (D-Stamford) said it was important to stand up for undocumented residents of 黑料吃瓜网.
鈥淭hey are our neighbors. They are our parents. They are our small business leaders. They are our front line workers who kept us going through the height of the pandemic,鈥� Delany said. 鈥淭hey are key and essential to every industry at every level, and they must be treated with dignity and respect.鈥�
Many speakers called for a strengthening of 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 Trust Act, which limits how state and local law enforcement can cooperate with federal immigration authorities. However, state Republican lawmakers are advocating for weakening the Trust Act this session.
鈥満诹铣怨贤� has a choice to make,鈥� said Chelsea-Infinity Gonzalez, public policy and advocacy director at the 黑料吃瓜网 ACLU. 鈥淲ill we be a true oppositional force against mass deportations and authoritarian overreach, or will we allow our state鈥檚 resources to be weaponized on our own communities?鈥�
鈥淭he federal government cannot force our state to aid in mass deportations. We will not allow it,鈥� Gonzalez said. 鈥淲e have the power to decide how our resources are used, and we have the responsibility to protect our communities. Strengthening the Trust Act is how we make that power real.鈥�
Faith leaders from various religious traditions attended as well, with Rabbi Debra Cantor speaking on behalf of the Greater Hartford Interfaith Action Alliance.
鈥淥ur churches, synagogues, mosques and temples have always been places of refuge,鈥� Cantor said. 鈥淣ow our places of worship, just like schools and hospitals, are no longer safe havens. Instead, our places of worship can be invaded and desecrated by ICE agents clad in riot gear inflicting terror upon us.鈥�
鈥淎s people of faith, we condemn the vile rhetoric and outright lies directed against immigrants,鈥� Cantor said. 鈥淭he othering and the scapegoating, those are familiar tools of fascism. And as a Jew, I know where this kind of thing can lead.鈥�
Fonseca Tapia, the organizer, also drew parallels to history.
鈥淭he infrastructure for mass detention has been built and fascism is here," Fonseca Tapia said. "So I want to ask you two questions: What if we knew about the infrastructure that Hitler was building before World War Two 鈥� what would we do with that knowledge?"
鈥淲hat side of history do you want to be on?鈥� Fonseca Tapia asked.
