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 Connecticut’s immigrant communities.
“Our immigrant community is under attack, and that’s why we marched, and that’s why we’re standing here together today,” said Juan Fonseca Tapia, one of the demonstration organizers. “Hate has no home here, and we want to send a clear and loud message: We stand with immigrants. Immigrants are welcome here.”
Some elected officials addressed the crowd.
“We are a city that loves all, that welcomes all, that protects all,” said Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam. “We are a city with an immigrant mayor who’s the son of refugees.”
State Rep. Hubert Delany (D-Stamford) said it was important to stand up for undocumented residents of Connecticut.
“They 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,” Delany said. “They are key and essential to every industry at every level, and they must be treated with dignity and respect.”
Many speakers called for a strengthening of Connecticut’s 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.
“Connecticut has a choice to make,” said Chelsea-Infinity Gonzalez, public policy and advocacy director at the Connecticut ACLU. “Will we be a true oppositional force against mass deportations and authoritarian overreach, or will we allow our state’s resources to be weaponized on our own communities?”
“The federal government cannot force our state to aid in mass deportations. We will not allow it,” Gonzalez said. “We 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.”
Faith leaders from various religious traditions attended as well, with Rabbi Debra Cantor speaking on behalf of the Greater Hartford Interfaith Action Alliance.
“Our churches, synagogues, mosques and temples have always been places of refuge,” Cantor said. “Now 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.”
“As people of faith, we condemn the vile rhetoric and outright lies directed against immigrants,” Cantor said. “The othering and the scapegoating, those are familiar tools of fascism. And as a Jew, I know where this kind of thing can lead.”
Fonseca Tapia, the organizer, also drew parallels to history.
“The 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 – what would we do with that knowledge?"
“What side of history do you want to be on?” Fonseca Tapia asked.
