Avelo Protests Continue, Expand

For the second Thursday in a row, demonstrators gathered by Tweed New Haven Airport to protest Avelo’s contract to carry out deportation flights for the Trump administration.

The crowd was three times bigger than last week’s — and saw local, state, and federal politicians turn out to show their support.

Roughly 200 people attended Thursday’s protest. They stood in a loose semicircle around the bed of a Hyundai truck that served as a pulpit for speakers including U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, East Rock/Fair Haven Alder Caroline Tanbee Smith, and State Rep. Juan Candelaria. 

The protesters were there to call on Avelo to end its contract with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as well as on state politicians to end a fuel tax subsidy granted to the company in 2023. 

Avelo is set to begin operating deportation flights from Mesa, Arizona, on May 12.

A grassroots online petition, meanwhile, has now garnered more than 33,800 signatures in support of an Avelo boycott.

Smith, who was accompanied Thursday by Fair Haven Alder Sarah Miller and Wooster Square Alder Ellen Cupo, condemned Avelo and President Donald Trump for ​“sidestep[ping] the highest court of the land” with the administration’s refusal to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland father of two who was wrongly deported to a prison in El Salvador in March.

Alder Smith’s speech was interrupted by cries of ​“Free Palestine” from a segment of the protesters who objected to the Board of Alders’ decision not to adopt a ceasefire resolution last May.

Gloria Bellacicco, an East Shore resident who has long opposed Tweed expansion and Avelo’s presence for different reasons, shouted down Blumenthal during her speech. 

With an extra week of planning, this protest was more organized than last week’s, as Anne Watkins, an organizer with New Haven Immigrants Coalition, pointed out. Watkins highlighted the marshals in yellow safety vests, who were new additions to this week’s protest, as well as the proliferation of hand-made signs, many of which were painted at a Tuesday night sign-painting event.

“You have your 9 – 5 and you have your 6 – 8,” said Hope Chávez, another organizer with New Haven Immigrants Coalition, emphasizing that the people coming out to protest Avelo are a diverse, impassioned crew. Watkins echoed this sentiment: ​“Folks here are motivated by justice in different forms. This is a moral moment, and everyone is compelled to act.”

Watkins had a simple message for Avelo: ​“Stop ICE flights or leave.” She had an even simpler one for her neighbors who didn’t come out to the protest Thursday: ​“Don’t fly Avelo.” 

“[Avelo CEO Andrew] Levy misunderstands us as a community,” Watkins said. ​“We want to see their bottom line get hit,” Chávez added.

Watkins and John Lugo, co-founder of the immigrant-rights and economic-justice group Unidad Latina en Acción (ULA), both noted that the boycott movement is spreading outside of New Haven, with protests ongoing or planned in several Avelo hub cities. 

Thursday also saw similar demonstrations in Rochester, N.Y.. And on Friday and Saturday, respectively, Burbank, Ca. and Wilmington, De. will host protests of their own. ​“This issue is creating a lot of tension at a national level,” Lugo said. ​“We need to wake up from whatever is going on in our life.”

“If we have to shut it down, we will,” he added.

Phil Brewer, a member of Jewish Voice for Peace who attended the demonstration, noted that his 99 year-old mother lives in St. Louis, a newly added Avelo destination. He’s flown Avelo to see her two or three times, but now says the convenience is not worth the moral cost. 

“These flights are illegal,” Brewer said, pointing to Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which governs aeronautics and space. Section 25.803 of Title 14 notes that all the crew and passengers of any flight with a seating capacity over 44 must be able to evacuate via emergency exits within 90 seconds. This, Brewer alleged, is impossible on a flight where passengers are shackled to the seats.

Mayor Justin Elicker emphasized that this is ​“not about a left or right wing issue. This is about an administration that is flagrantly choosing to ignore due process and judicial mandates to deport people.” 

The mayor also responded to allegations that he and other Connecticut Democrats are responsible for the ongoing situation due to their championing of Avelo in years past: ​“That’s a silly accusation. Avelo wasn’t deporting people for the Trump administration [until]…two or three weeks ago. They made this decision alone.”

A spokesperson for Avelo gave the following comment: ​“The safety and well-being of our Crewmembers (employees), Customers and all individuals involved is our highest priority. While we recognize the right of individuals to peacefully assemble, Avelo’s main priority will continue to be maintaining the safety and timeliness of our operation.”