Dozens of protesters from Newburgh and beyond gathered Saturday at the John Lewis statue on the corner of Broadway and Liberty Street to oppose ICE and support the city’s immigrant community.

The noon demonstration was organized by several Hudson Valley groups, including the New York Immigration Coalition, Fuerza Newburgh, Newburgh Resist and the Mid-Hudson Valley Democratic Socialists of America.

Mark Sanchez-Potter, a Newburgh resident who helped organize the protest, said it was held “in opposition to President Trump and his immigration policies which are negatively affecting the Latino community and the City of Newburgh as a whole.”

Protesters said they hoped to show Newburgh community members who may be targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement that they have support.

“I hope that people in the City of Newburgh understand that they are not alone, that vulnerable people within the City of Newburgh understand that they are not alone,” said Newburgh resident Kathy Lawrence. “I hope that this action is repeated by thousands of communities across the country and that the electorate understands that this president and his administration do not represent the majority of Americans and that message gets louder every day.”

The first speaker was the Rev. Rigoberto Ávila of Church of the Good Shepherd. He drew parallels between Jesus of Nazareth and the current experience of Americans, saying Jesus was “a person who was in the middle of the oppression of the Roman Empire. We are at the same moment in life in our country.”

Several elected officials representing the Newburgh area addressed the crowd, including City Council members Giselle Martinez and Ramona Monteverde, Council member-elect Ronald Zorrilla and state Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson.

Martinez spoke about her own experience with racial profiling and political hostility, warning that ICE does not only target undocumented immigrants.
“It’s not just our undocumented community that’s been experiencing all of these arrests, racial profiling, it’s also citizens,” she said. “Across the country we’ve seen veterans be deported despite having served for our country ... this narrative that they’re only targeting people with criminal records is false.”
She encouraged those present to join rapid response networks and “be active.”

Monteverde called on the crowd to continue showing up and speaking out against the targeting of immigrants.

“Fight back, speak up,” she said. “If you see something, say something. Protect your friends and families, this is not a time to sit back and say ‘I don’t get involved in politics.’”

Jacobson spoke about New York state legislation aimed at countering ICE. He mentioned the Protect Our Courts Act, a 2020 law recently upheld by a federal judge that prohibits ICE from detaining people in courthouses without a court order or criminal warrant, and the New York for All Act, a bill currently in committee that would prevent New York law enforcement from cooperating with immigration enforcement.

Leanna Zilles, co-chair of the Mid-Hudson Valley Democratic Socialists of America, was more direct in her condemnation of the Trump administration.
“We’re seeing the crisis of fascism unfold before our eyes,” she said. “In order to build the beautiful future that we deserve, we must fight to abolish ICE, and we must do so much more.”

Sanchez-Potter said the organizations are planning their next large event for May Day. In the meantime, Newburgh residents can attend a monthly vigil held by the Newburgh Interfaith Council on the third Thursday of each month at 6 p.m. at the Peace on Earth Panorama on Broadway and Colden Street.

Organizations like Fuerza Newburgh will also hold smaller events to inform immigrants of their rights and support immigrant families in Newburgh.