Kica Matos and Rabbi Herb Brockman (at left) with Nury Chavarria in 2017 at Fair Haven's Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal, where she was being housed to prevent federal agents from arresting and deporting her.
Donald Trump is back at raiding immigrant communities and deporting people. So Herb Brockman is back at working with other religious leaders to step in to help targeted immigrants and their families.
Lady Liberty sheds a tear: Former director Chris George (second from right) with the crew at Nicoll Street HQ before the dawn of a new era.
(Opinion) IRIS’s former director reflects on the “small-scale Ellis Island” that was 235 Nicoll St., as the storied refugee resettlement agency plans to leave its longtime East Rock office amid federal funding cuts.
IRIS Executive Director Salem: Responding to vanishing federal support.
New Haven’s flagship refugee resettlement agency is closing its main doors at 235 Nicoll St. and shifting to remote work and satellite locations after losing millions of dollars in federal funding.
Antonio Portillo presents demand letter alongside ULA members.
(Updated) A pay dispute at a downtown restaurant ended with a manager threatening to call immigration authorities — and pro-immigration activists showing up to demand respect.
by
Nathaniel Rosenberg |
Feb 28, 2025 10:48 am
|
Comments
(10)
Paul Bass file photo
Another 11 cities and counties — mostly from the West Coast — have joined New Haven’s lawsuit against the Trump administration to protect their sanctuary status for undocumented immigrants.
by
Nathaniel Rosenberg |
Feb 26, 2025 9:12 am
|
Comments
(24)
Christopher Peak file photo
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
That’s the text of the 10th Amendment, which according to local immigration law experts is the basis for New Haven’s lawsuit against the Trump administration to protect its “welcoming city” status for undocumented immigrants.
AG Tong (left): “Let us commit to each other as we run.”
Sasha Watson (center) and her family at Sunday's run.
Five-year-old Tristan Jones stood beside his dad and grandmother and held his rainbow-emblazoned sign high: “I am the descendant of immigrants! I love mom! Go moms!”
His mom, Sasha Watson, was one of more than 3,400 people who registered for Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (IRIS)’s annual five-kilometer Run for Refugees, which raised more than $145,000. Around 2,500 runners took off from Wilbur Cross High School at noon on Sunday — undeterred by the four inches of snow from the storm the night before.
IRIS Director Maggie Mitchell Salem: Help halted for "the world's most vulnerable people."
IRIS (Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services) has laid off 20 percent of its staff — approximately 20 people — in the wake of President Donald Trump’s decisions to stop all new refugees from entering the country and halt federal funding to assist those who have recently arrived.
As the organization adjusts to a new era of federal hostility toward its mission, New Haven’s state and federal representatives are working to fight back.
Supt. Negrón: "This is a stressful time for many in our community."
If U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers attempt to enter New Haven schools, the school district will require them to present a warrant — which will then be reviewed by a legal team and the superintendent’s office.
Then, the district will notify guardians if a warrant specifically mentions their child.
Supt. Madeline Negrón notified New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) parents of that immigration-related update in an email Tuesday afternoon.
Former U.S. translator Serweri at WNHH: Brother's family stranded.
They risked their lives to help the U.S. They followed all the rules to win permission to come to the U.S. to escape death threats. They had their airplane tickets ready. Mohammad Daad Serweri was ready to welcome them to New Haven and help them start new lives.
Then the Trump administration slammed shut the door. What happens next to the Afghan families — and to the U.S.‘s ability to convince people in other countries to risk their lives to help us in the future — is suddenly in question.
New Haven’s flagship refugee resettlement agency is hustling to raise millions of emergency dollars after the Trump administration suddenly canceled a contract to help up to 800 families start new lives here.
by
Matthew Watson |
Jan 23, 2025 3:14 pm
|
Comments
(8)
Laura Glesby file photo
Inauguration Day protest outside City Hall.
(Opinion) Local government is at the center of a contentious national conversation about immigration.
Many cities across the United States, including New Haven, have adopted sanctuary policies, limiting the role of local law enforcement in federal immigration policy. These orders are not just acts of political defiance; they are deeply rooted in constitutional principles, practical governance and the need to build trust between local authorities and the communities they serve.
by
Nathaniel Rosenberg |
Jan 22, 2025 7:57 pm
|
Comments
(20)
Elicker: “What world are we in right now where, because of a disagreement on policy, the Trump administration is threatening arresting local officials? That's something you see in Iran, that's something you see in Russia, and I guess that's something we see in America right now, but that's really sad.”
The Trump administration might try to criminally prosecute local officials who stand in the way of its mass deportation efforts — but Mayor Justin Elicker isn’t worried about being locked up.
After all, he stressed, there’s a big difference between not participating in federal immigration raids and actively trying to prevent them.
John Lugo and Kica Matos discussed the flyers on La Voz Del Migrante on WNHH FM radio.
Someone distributed dozens of anti-immigrant flyers around the East Rock neighborhood on Wednesday morning, in the wake of a blitz of immigration-restricting executive orders that newly inaugurated President Donald Trump set in motion.
by
Dereen Shirnekhi |
Jan 21, 2025 4:19 pm
|
Comments
(32)
Lucy Gellman file photo
Kica Matos: Trump's executive orders "should offend any American who believes in our Constitution and our democracy."
Connecticut has joined 17 states in suing President Donald Trump to challenge an executive order to end birthright citizenship — just one of a slate of executive orders signed by the new president that a national immigrant rights activist based in New Haven describes as “comprehensive, cruel and shocking in scope.”
Protesters declare support for trans, immigrant, Palestinian rights and more on the Green...
Laura Glesby file photo
...and outside City Hall, on Trump Inauguration Day.
A Statue of Liberty drawn on fire, free toiletries for any who needed, and collective shouts of immigrant, transgender, and Palestinian resistance rang through the frigid cold at two parallel protests downtown.
Their message resounded on Monday afternoon as Donald Trump once again took an oath of office — with a flurry of executive orders cracking down on immigration and cementing anti-trans policies awaiting his signature.
by
Nathaniel Rosenberg |
Jan 17, 2025 7:19 pm
|
Comments
(39)
Nathaniel Rosenberg photo
Chief Jacobson: "We want you to call the police no matter what your immigration status is."
New Haven will protect immigrants, regardless of legal status, during a second Trump administration.
More than two dozen city officials, alders and immigrant rights advocates gathered in Fair Haven Friday afternoon to send that message — as they highlighted the city’s newly updated resource guide for new residents, which includes sections on the legal rights available to undocumented New Haveners.
by
Zachary Groz |
Dec 2, 2024 8:14 am
|
Comments
(1)
Zachary Groz photo
Classmates Robina, Faryal, and Ghofran, at Troup's annual multicultural luncheon.
Sitting around a lunch table draped in an aquamarine cloth and topped with festive fall ornaments, Robina, 10, Faryal, 12, and Ghofran, 12, giggled and cracked jokes, translating them into English after the fact, in between bites of fried chicken, bread rolls, and rice.
Naranjo at ULA's City Hall protest: "We're full of fear.”
Paula Naranjo fought back tears as she spoke on the front steps of City Hall about what Donald Trump’s second presidential administration could mean for New Haven-area immigrants like herself.
An Independent story about factory-line marriages involving out-of-state couples including Indian immigrants has sparked calls for investigation and reexamination of how municipalities process licenses.
