Hundreds gathered on the New Haven Green Sunday afternoon for an “ICE Out For Good” rally, organized by 50501, as part of a weekend of more than 1,000 peaceful demonstrations nationwide. The protests followed the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) a gent in Minneapolis, prompting calls for accountability and an end to ICE operations in local communities. See below for photos from Sunday’s rally on the Green. Andrew Rice, serving as MC, led the crowd in reading aloud the names of all known victims of ICE. As each name was spoken, candles were lit in their memory. Members of the Umbrella Brigade parade around the New Haven Green with hand-designed protest umbrellas that were all made in the last two weeks in preparation for today’s rally. Kika Matos, president of the National Immigration Law Center, addressed the crowd on the New Haven Green, urging attendees to move beyond grief toward collective action. “Let us honor the victims … not just with our grief and our words, but with our actions,” she said, calling on everyone present to fight harder, fight smarter, fight louder, and fight together against what she described as an immoral system. Terence, New Haven fashion designer and founder of the Open Minds clothing brand, holds one of his own anti-ICE garments. Rosa, a ULA member and union hotel worker, addresses the crowd, sharing her perspective as a worker and immigrant advocate while calling for solidarity, dignity, and justice. A handmade sign by Westville artist David Sepulveda points the way. Russ O’Shea, a rank-and-file Teamsters member active in his union’s Pride Caucus and a proud trans man, addresses the crowd. He is also a member of the Connecticut Civil Liberties Defense Committee. He warned against repressive programs aimed at suppressing grassroots movements and emphasized the power of collective action to bring people into the streets and resist injustice. Rev. Ally Brundige leads the crowd in prayer. Leslie Blatteau, president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers, addressed the crowd , sharply criticizing federal immigration enforcement practices. “ICE agents are ignoring due process and the rule of law when they murder people like Rene and Silverio in the streets of American cities,” Blatteau said, noting that, even in 2026 alone, four people have already died in ICE custody. She urged continued protest, mutual care, and support for rapid-response organizations in New Haven as part of broader resistance efforts. Sierra-Marie Gerfao closed the program with a benediction centered on collective care and perseverance. Acknowledging “the many” who support the movement in visible and unseen ways, Gerfao called on the crowd to hold fear in community rather than isolation and to keep showing up for one another, framing solidarity, hope, and love as the forces that sustain the work and carry it forward. Dr. Kate Mackenzie, who has evaluated individuals held in immigration detention and co-authored a report on deaths in custody, addresses the crowd. Speaking as a physician and witness, she shared the story of an asylum seeker who died after being misdiagnosed in detention, urging those gathered to remember those lost and to call for an end to a system she described as preventable, negligent, and deadly. Rona Rohbar, who fled Afghanistan in 2002 and was resettled in New Haven by Integrated Refugee Immigrant Services (IRIS), thanking the crowd for defending the values that brought her and many others to the United States. Rohbar urged continued support for IRIS and for policies that protect vulnerable families while investing in the future of the community. An upside-down American flag is held aloft above the crowd, a recognized signal of national distress. The post Protest Call: “ICE Out For Good” appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less