7/7 & 7/8 Rallies to free Heidi and Nacho!

Community leaders Nacho and Heidi were violently detained by Border Patrol while delivering food to local farmworkers. Agents stopped over without cause, smashed their window, and pulled them out of their car. For the past two weeks, they have been unjustly held in detention.

On July 7th and 8th, both will have their first hearings in federal court to challenge their unlawful detention and request immediate release. Outside, community supporters will gather to stand with Heidi and Nacho – and to stand up to ICE’s attacks.

Join us in front of the Federal Courthouse in Burlington, VT (11 Elmwood Ave) on Monday 7/7 and Tuesday 7/8 at 2:30pm. Rally to free Nacho and Heidi!

The detention of Heidi and Nacho – and ICE’s efforts to deport them – coincides with a landmark week for immigrant communities in Vermont. On July 1st, two new laws took effect. They are the result of years of courageous and tireless organizing led by Nacho, Heidi, and their community to advance the human rights of immigrants in the state.

The Education Equity Act, passed last year and now taking effect, guarantees in-state tuition rates and need-based financial aid at public colleges and universities for all Vermont students, regardless of immigration status. Through this law, higher education is now within reach for immigrant Vermonters – including Heidi herself. As a student at Milton High School, she was one of the principal campaigners for the law. Heidi graduated just days before being detained and is planning on attending Vermont State University in the fall.

The Housing Access for Immigrant Families Act, signed into law just two days before Nacho and Heidi’s detainment, prohibits discrimination in housing and public accommodations based on immigration and citizenship status. Under the new law, landlords will no longer be able to require applicants to provide a Social Security number. This law provides some of the strongest protections in the country and will increase access to quality and dignified housing for immigrant families in Vermont. 

Nacho had fought for the passage of the Housing Access law, helping to lead the campaign in the State House and providing emotional testimony to lawmakers. Describing his family’s difficulty finding stable housing, Nacho spoke of staying up during summer nights in an unregulated attic apartment without electricity, desperately fanning his newborn baby to keep him from overheating. A longtime dairy worker and current worker-owner at construction cooperative New Frameworks, Nacho addressed lawmakers:

“Whenever I finish building a house, I take great pride knowing that because of my work, a family will now have a roof over their heads…. It is my sincere hope that the homes that we are building will one day be accessible for our own community.”

Nacho and Heidi must be released so they can return to their family and community. They deserve to live freely and benefit from the rights and protections that they have helped bring about through their courageous leadership.

If you haven’t yet, send a message to ICE to free Nacho, free Heidi, and stop their deportations