Over 300 community members gathered in Hinds Plaza in Princeton on Labor Day, Sept. 1, for a vigil commemorating the 15 workers detained in an Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) raid on Harrison Street in July.
The vigil was part of the nationwide “Workers Over Billionaires” protests opposing the Trump administration’s slashing of programs like Medicaid, and called for protections for workers. The event, organized by Resistencia en Acción New Jersey, followed earlier demonstrations against President Trump in Princeton, including a rally on May Day and a post-election protest last November.
“This was really a time to honor the families and to make space for them to be able to share these stories and remember their names,” said Juliana Lopez ’27, who worked with Resistencia over the summer as part of Princeton’s Recognizing Inequities and Standing for Equality (RISE) Fellowship. “This is the first time we did a vigil; we had a pretty big outcome,” she continued.
Rebecca Pavley and her husband Richard Pavley, who live in a neighboring zip code, told the ‘Prince’ that they joined “every [protest they] could get to” in the weeks leading up to Labor Day and on the day itself.
“There’s so many reasons: to protect our country from the descent into authoritarianism and fascism; speak up for the undocumented; help speak up for people without my privilege,” said Rebecca Pavley, whose parents were union workers.
“We are the grandchildren of immigrants, and now, the country is taking the latest round of immigrants and sending them back,” Richard Pavley added.
The hour-long vigil, which lasted from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., featured testimonies from family members of those detained and deported by ICE, while attendees held candles in their honor. Attendees displayed placards with messages such as “Keep the immigrants, deport Trump” and “ICE off my property.”
Many community members — including some who traveled from South Jersey — expressed their determination to continue speaking out against the Trump administration.
“I do think being loud in this world is important,” Rem Hlei Cuai, a Princeton High School graduate, told the ‘Prince.’ “It really breaks my heart that the people with the most money and weaponry are trying to put everyone else down and make them feel isolated.”
Addressing the crowd, Resistencia organizer Asma Elhuni urged residents to “turn grief into action, fear into courage, and isolation into community.” Elhuni added that famine in Gaza and ICE raids across the U.S. are “not separate” and “connected to the same system of militarization and dehumanization.”
“Stand against the tyranny. You are our only hope, the people,” Rev. Erich Kussman, the pastor of St. Bartholomew Lutheran Church in Trenton, told the crowd. Kussman recited the names of those detained while volunteers, their mouths covered with tape, held up their photographs.
“We’re a country that believes in freedom. We need to take a stand. If we don’t, fascism is coming,” Kussman told the ‘Prince’ after the vigil. “I came out on this Labor Day vigil today because people are being disappeared in our communities with no notifications, sometimes no warrants, and it has to stop,” he continued.
Speakers stressed the need for a strong community response to ICE raids and called for a united stance against the Trump administration. Chris Hedges, former New York Times editor turned Princeton pro-Palestine advocate, was in attendance and outlined two main demands: an end to ICE raids in Princeton and beyond, and the protection of workers’ rights and safe workplace conditions for all, regardless of citizenship status.
“We have to create a system by which the moment ICE arrives in this town, every church bell rings,” Hedges told the crowd. “We can create a model for the rest of this country to stop fascism.”
Sena Chang is a senior News writer for the ‘Prince.’ She typically covers campus and community activism, the state of higher education, and alumni news.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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