This story has been updated.

Activists and local elected officials descended on John S. Martinez School in the Fair Haven neighborhood of New Haven Tuesday morning to support a man who was seeking refuge after he narrowly avoided being arrested by federal immigration agents.

The 47-year-old man had been stopped by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer while taking his daughter to the James Street K-8 school Tuesday, according to local activist and Unidad Latina en Acción leader John Lugo. Lugo said he had spoken with the man’s wife.

According to Lugo, the father and his daughter had been stopped by ICE outside their home near Blatchley Avenue and Pine Street in Fair Haven. Lugo said that, when the ICE officer saw the child, the officer told the father to drop her off at school — and to wait for officials outside.

At around 9:30 a.m., around ten activists stood outside the school, where the man was hiding out from ICE. They were keeping an eye out, but no ICE officers had come to the school yet. City teachers union President Leslie Blatteau and Vice President Jenny Graves remained with the man inside. Blatteau declined to comment for this story.

“It’s easy to target Fair Haven,” given the number of Latino immigrants who live in the neighborhood, Lugo said.

“I’m getting a lot of calls from parents who have kids here,” he said. “I’m worried some kids will stop going to school.”

Fair Haven Alder Sarah Miller also visited Martinez School Tuesday morning. She went inside and said she spoke with the father.

“We want to make sure that families know that schools are safe,” Miller said. She said that activists would be present at the school’s dismissal on Tuesday to boost support for families, who can also request to be walked home after school lets out.

New Haven Public Schools’ (NHPS’) requires that ICE officers provide a warrant if they want to enter a school, which is then reviewed by a legal team and the superintendent’s office.

Mayor Justin Elicker stopped by the school on Tuesday, along with Deputy Corporation Counsel Roderick Williams. As he left, Elicker said, “We do everything we can within the law to keep our community safe, and it’s concerning that ICE is attempting to arrest someone with a child.”

In April, ICE agents attempted to arrest another Fair Havener while he took his seven-month-old baby to daycare. Activists recorded the officers and urged them to leave the man alone, ultimately succeeding as officers backed off.

Last year, however, ICE agents did arrest Hill mom Nancy Martinez while her children watched, boxing her car in as she left to take her kids to school.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have any control over ICE’s ability to arrest people in our city,” Elicker said Tuesday. The city has control over its police department, he noted, which is instructed not to aid federal immigration officers in arrests. “We’ll do our best to notify people of their rights.”

Meanwhile, John Martinez School Assistant Principal Lauren Sepulveda posted the following notice online Tuesday morning:

“Dear Martinez Families,

There were reports today that ICE was in the surrounding neighborhood of our school. John S. Martinez is following all New Haven Public Schools protocols and safety measures. All students and staff are safe. We are following normal dismissal procedures. If there is a change in your child’s dismissal, please contact the main office immediately. If you have any questions, please reach out to the main office at 475-220-2000.”

ICE did not respond to a request for comment by the publication time of this story.

Just before 3 p.m. dismissal, activists returned to John Martinez School to intervene in case ICE arrived. It turned out that the father had left the school around 11 a.m., without being arrested by ICE. After dismissal, the man’s daughter also left. No ICE presence was seen.

ULA member and local peace activist Manuel Camacho, who is 21, said that ULA is looking for more volunteers to deal with situations like Tuesday’s. “We’re probably going to deal with this more often,” he said.

Justin Farmer, who is running to represent the 92nd district as a state representative, was one of the dozen activists present at dismissal. Farmer, who has spoken about the deportation of his own brothers to Jamaica when he was young, said that he was in attendance to help make sure “people are OK.”

“I’m terrified for Fair Haven,” he said. Still, he wanted to ensure that the conversation around immigration and the need for rapid response was expanded to include other neighborhoods and immigrant communities — like those from the West Indies, Jamaica, eastern Europe, and Asia.

Outside of the school’s parking lot on James Street, a mother — who asked not to be named — picked up two vanilla rainbow sprinkle cones and a cup of strawberry ice cream from a truck to keep her three children cool after the school day.

The family received handouts about ULA and its rapid response network from CJ, a Black and Brown United in Action lead organizer and member of ULA, while waiting for their ice cream. The mother said she hadn’t known about the attempted ICE arrest or the events happening at her children’s school, as she had been busy with work.

After securing a cone, 4th grader Matthew practiced a few blows with a red whistle, also distributed by CJ, that let out a sharp pitch. The whistles are intended to alert people nearby to ICE activity.

The mother said she appreciates the handouts, despite her family being legally documented, to stay aware for the sake of others in the neighborhood. “We are enjoying this [ice cream] because we are safe,” she said.

After getting their hands on their cool treats, Matthew and his sister Sophia, a 2nd grader, and kindergartener brother Noah walked home with their mother.

This story was first published May 26, 2026 by New Haven Independent.