Free Nacho! Free Heidi! Not One More Deportation!
Yesterday, as hundreds of thousands around the country gathered to protest the administration’s inhumane and authoritarian attacks on human rights, Border Patrol agents in Vermont detained two Migrant Justice leaders. Jose Ignacio “Nacho” De La Cruz was driving with his stepdaughter Heidy Perez in Franklin County when they were pulled over. Agents smashed their car window and violently detained the two community leaders.
Nacho is a prominent spokesperson for the state’s immigrant community, part of Migrant Justice’s Coordinating Committee, and for years has been at the forefront of struggles for human rights and social justice. A former dairy worker, he has led campaigns for workers’ rights in the dairy and construction industries and has been at the center of every immigrant rights legislation in Vermont in the past five years. A frequent presence at the Vermont State House, he recently testified in favor of the Housing Access for Immigrant Families proposal, which was signed into law by Governor Phil Scott two days before Nacho’s detention.
Heidy Perez, Nacho’s stepdaughter and a passenger in the vehicle, graduated from Milton High School less than a week before her detention. At eighteen years old, she is a community leader in her own right. Heidy has led marches and rallies for Milk with Dignity and in 2024 spoke on stage at the Vermont Pride Parade. While a high school junior, she was a principal leader in the 2024 campaign to pass the Education Equity Act, ensuring access to higher education for immigrant students in Vermont. She is hoping to enroll in Vermont State University in the fall.
In solidarity,
Migrant Justice
