A wall made of people holding up signs lined the front of the State Capitol Tuesday afternoon protesting the Trump administration and its immigration enforcement efforts.
Retired West Hartford resident Mary-Ann Langton said she couldn’t stand by after the fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis involving an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer.
“Unbelievable. I don’t believe anything like that could happen,” Langton said. “I could not sit still any longer. I called Patty and I said, ‘Let’s do a rally.’”
Patty Ellis helped Langton organize the rally as members of a group called West Hartford Rally. They are also affiliated with Indivisible CT, the local chapter of a grassroots movement known for its efforts with the No Kings protests and other rallies that resist the Trump administration.
Both Ellis and Langton said their opinions are their own and not representative of the Indivisible CT organization.
Seeing about one hundred people show up to protest reinvigorated Ellis, who said they plan to continue organizing more rallies.
“It’s very heartening. This is keeping the movement going. We just need to keep sticking together and building the resistance,” Ellis said.
Gina Pagano of Cromwell stood out in the cold with the rest of the protestors. She had a sign that spelled out “ICE” as a mnemonic device: “I = Imbecile, C = Cruel, E = Evil.”
“After Renee Good was killed, I just had to come out and do something. I’m a firm believer that we need to get this administration out,” Pagano said. “As a citizen, I feel like it’s my responsibility to say no more.”
Pagano also had a body camera.
“I have a body cam on now because I’m going to start documenting everything. You have to,” Pagano said.
Keeping the peace, despite personal risk, as ICE ramps up
The rally took place days after an incident under investigation in Hartford in which federal officers deployed pepper spray and drove through a crowd of protestors.
“It’s alarming,” Pagano said. “I have water in my backpack as well as a change of clothing in case that were to happen. I don’t see why it should keep happening. We are peaceful protestors. It’s really a shame that we enrage people enough to act out simply for standing up for our rights.”
Sean Hannon of Bridgeport was also not discouraged from participating in the rally Tuesday.
“I feel that it’s going to get worse before it gets better,” Hannon said. “That doesn’t deter me from standing here and being a part of what has to happen.”
On Tuesday, the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), an independent, non-partisan think tank, published their findings in researching the changes to U.S. immigration policy under President Trump during the first year of his second term.
MPI estimates that “the Trump administration in the first year of its second term took more than 500 actions on immigration, surpassing the 472 actions over all four years of Trump’s first term.” These actions include executive orders, presidential proclamations and policy guidance.
According to MPI, ICE detainments nearly doubled from a daily average of 39,000 in January 2025 to about 70,000 as of January 7, 2026.
MPI also found that despite the Trump administration’s claims to be targeting criminals, just 26% of people in ICE detention had a criminal conviction and another 26% had a pending criminal charge.
With another three years of Trump’s term ahead, Hannon said it’s promising to see more and more people turning out to these rallies.
“I think that the more of us see each other, the more of us will come out, and be willing to face that same personal risk because it’s just that important,” Hannon said.
