Block Party Raises $$ For ICE-Detained Mom

Immigrants rights activists and Hill neighbors gathered on Frank Street Saturday afternoon to make music, grill burgers, and raise money for the family of Nancy Martinez — a New Haven mom who remains in federal immigration detention a month after masked ICE agents seized her in front of her kids outside of their home.

Saturday afternoon’s block party took place on Frank Street between Barclay Street and Clover Place, right in front of where Martinez’s family lives. 

The event was organized in part by John Lugo, co-founder of immigrant advocacy group Unidad Latina en Acción. It featured music, food, and testimonials from neighbors, organizers, and activists who came together to raise funds and awareness for Martinez’s family — especially her two children, ages 13 and 8, who remain in New Haven. According to Lugo, the block party raised $1,803 to support Martinez’s family.

Martinez, a 37-year-old native of Mexico who has lived in the U.S. for 15 years, is currently being held at the Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, Rhode Island.

A longtime New Haven resident and factory worker, Martinez was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on the morning of June 9. The arrest took place just outside her Hill neighborhood home, as she prepared to take her children to school. The operation was carried out by multiple ICE agents in unmarked vehicles, leaving her children visibly shaken and temporarily unsupervised until relatives could arrive. 

That same day Martinez was arrested by ICE, she was also scheduled to go to state court downtown for the next hearing in her ongoing criminal court case. City police had arrested Martinez in March on two misdemeanor charges stemming from a babysitting-related fight Martinez allegedly got into with her sister-in-law. Martinez has not yet entered pleas to those two charges; her next state court date is scheduled for September. 

At Saturday’s block party, Monse, Martinez’s 13-year-old daughter, said the family has been under immense emotional strain since her mother’s arrest, especially as they try to navigate the summer without her. 

With her 8‑year-old brother, Monse said she’s doing her best to stay mentally strong — for both herself and her younger sibling. She described the situation as ​“stressful,” but emphasized the importance of remaining resilient in their mother’s absence.

“It hurts a lot, but I mean, I feel like you have to think and stay strong,” she told the Independent on Saturday.

Monse added that the outpouring of support from neighbors and community members has been unexpectedly uplifting. She said she never imagined receiving this level of help, and that the care shown to her family has made a meaningful difference.

A traditional Mexican menu served to honor the family’s culture featured tacos de carnitas, tostadas de tinga, and aguas frescas including horchata, Jamaica, and lemonade. Burgers and hot dogs were also served. Local musicians, including a mariachi group and Puerto Rican bomba performers, brought live music to the block.

The gathering served as both a fundraiser and a public event, drawing attention to the immigration enforcement system involved in a recent New Haven arrest. Community members, including Hill Alder Evelyn Rodriguez, came together to support the affected family and to raise awareness about ongoing discussions around local and national immigration policy.

ULA’s John Lugo said the block party built on previous fundraisers his group has hosted for other families facing deportation. He emphasized that 100 percent of proceeds would go to supporting Martinez’s family, who have lost a source of income and may eventually need to post bond.

Lugo added that similar block parties are planned across New Haven as more families find themselves entangled in immigration proceedings.

“When we were aware about this case of Nancy … we said, well, maybe we should throw a party — because it’s summer and it’s a good way to bring people together and create awareness,” Lugo said.

Among those in attendance was Alyssa Demino, a Guilford native who now works at Yale New Haven Hospital. Demino, a member of Shoreline Indivisible, said her involvement in grassroots organizing began in college and continues today as she stands in solidarity with immigrant families.

Kica Matos, president of the National Immigration Law Center, joined the event alongside a bomba ensemble Proyecto Cimmaron that centers social justice in its performances. She described the demonstration as part of a broader resistance to increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement, calling attention to what she views as an authoritarian shift in the country’s treatment of immigrant communities.

“What brought me today is a sense of rage over what is happening in this country — we’re sliding into authoritarianism on the backs of immigrants,” Matos said. ​“People who live in our families are being snatched on the streets, shoved into Escalades, and taken to detention centers.”