New London neighbors stand with Tyson Foods workers facing deportation

NEW LONDON — On a chilly Wednesday morning, the smell of hot dogs and mustard lingered in the air outside the Tyson Foods facility in New London.

Across the road from the plant, a group of grassroots advocates, concerned residents, schoolteachers, and immigrant lawyers gathered together at the intersection leading to East Beckert Road.

Chanting “This is not what Democracy looks like,” they came together to stand with employees of the plant who arrived in the country legally but now face the risk of deportation.

“We’re showing up and letting them know that they’re not alone in this — that we’ve got their backs and that we’re here for them,” said Emily Tseffos, an organizer and lead with the grassroots group Forward New London.

In January, President Donald Trump’s administration revoked legal status for 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans who entered the country through a humanitarian parole program. The order cut short a two-year initiative, known as CHNV, created under the previous administration and design to offer a legal pathway to reduce the number of people crossing the southern border illegally. Now, a Department of Homeland Security notice stated they will lose their legal status on April 24.

Around 100 workers who came to the country via the CHNV program and work at Tyson Foods’ New London facility are affected by the change. Many may soon lose their legal right to live and work in the country.

Late last month, Tyson Foods sent employment termination letters to all affected workers. Immigration lawyers said options to stay are limited. Some may apply for asylum, but the process is long and uncertain.

Advocates say many fear that speaking out could draw unwanted attention or jeopardize what little legal protection they have left, and that additional language barriers prevent them from speaking up.

The New London community members are collecting donations to support immigrant workers and their family members.

“Just in our local community, doing the paperwork and offering the financial support, that’s all critical as well,” said Tseffos.

They arrived legally. Tyson Foods hired them. Now they face deportation.

Marc Christopher, a New London resident and an immigrant attorney, represents families now facing deportation.

Christopher said most of the 100 individuals are Haitian immigrants who began settling in the city in 2023 under the humanitarian parole program.

He said the CHNV program requires a U.S.-based sponsor, a vetting process to obtain parole status and grants individuals the ability to apply for a work permit immediately after being paroled.

Tyson Foods has not immediately responded to The Post-Crescent’s request for comment.

How these workers came to settle in New London and end up at Tyson Foods remains unclear.

But for Kevin Finley, a rally participant who drove 45 minutes from Scandinavia, Wisconsin, to show his solidarity, it’s not surprising.

“They’re here to do the heavy lifting that Americans don’t really seem to want to do, and they’re here legally,” said Finley, 72, who previously ran a wholesale nursey business.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has conducted multiple inspections and issued citations to Tyson Foods from 2020 to 2021, citing the company for workplace safety violations. The federal regulator flagged common hazards in the poultry processing industry, such as exposure to high noise levels, dangerous equipment, slippery floors, and hazardous chemicals.

In an industry that is heavily dependent on immigrant labor, large-scale deportations would have serious consequences.

A 2020 study by the Economic Policy Institute shows that foreign-born workers account for 38% of the meat and poultry processing workforce, compared to 17% across the U.S. workforce overall.

“Majority of Americans, when they go into the grocery store, which we all take for granted, that chicken won’t be there, beef won’t be there, the dairy products won’t be there, because those are the people that are doing the work that Americans are not doing,” he told The Post-Crescent at the rally on Wednesday.

According to one of the Tyson Foods termination letters, dated March 27 and reviewed by The Post-Crescent Wednesday, the employment authorization will expire on April 23.

‘They are part of the community’: Paying rent, sending their children to schools in New London

Eloisa De Leon, who is married to Christopher and is raising two children in the local school district, said the changes hit close to home. Her children have become friends with immigrant children at school.

De Leon, also an immigration attorney, said she’s had difficult conversations at home, trying to prepare her kids for what may come.

She said she had to tell them their friends might not be going to school anymore. And very soon, they may not be part of the school community at all.

Superintendent Scott Bleck of the New London School District said students with Haitian immigrant backgrounds began enrolling about a year and a half ago. Today, they’re spread across all grade levels, from elementary to high school.

But Bleck declined to provide the number of students who are likely to be affected.

“I’m pretty sure they’re having those conversations (at home) too. It’s frightening. It’s scary,” said De Leon.

The impact ripples beyond the classroom.

Randy Retzlaff, a local landlord, owns two apartment complexes in New London: Celestila Hills Apartments, located just 2 minutes’ drive from Tyson Foods, and Koltwood Apartments. Between the two, he said he has rented to nearly 20 Haitian immigrants over the past two years.

“They’re a mix,” Retzlaff said. “Some came with families, some with friends.”

He said he has spoken with tenants about everyday needs — where to find a food pantry or if there is a Haitian grocery store in New London. He said one tenant asked about entertainment, but most are worried about daily living and livelihoods.

Communication is the biggest challenge, since most tenants don’t speak English.

He just learned many of his tenants would soon lose their jobs at Tyson Foods and therefore will affect his source of income, too.

“If you sit there and you got 50 units and 10 of them move out, that’s 20% you use to pay your utilities, your taxes, your insurance, all the fixed costs,” he said.

For De Leon, it’s the small things that stick with her — passing someone in the grocery aisle at Festival Foods or seeing them at the gym.

“They’re part of our community,” she added.

Now, many face the risk of deportation. The hope of staying is growing slimmer.

Christopher and De Leon are representing 10 Haitian families seeking asylum in the U.S. The humanitarian situation in Haiti is worsening amid rampant gang violence. Murders, kidnapping and sexual violence have skyrocketed. Last year, the U.N. estimated half of the population, about 5.5 million, needed humanitarian assistance. The agency said more than 42,000 people have been reported killed across the country from July to February.

Christopher said individuals under the CHNV program must leave the U.S. before their parole expires. If they failed to submit other immigration applications, they would be left without legal status and vulnerable to deportation.

“Once April 24 comes, ICE can go after,” he said. “It’s just a matter of time before they get into the system. They’ll be detained and ultimately sent back.”

The legal options to stay are limited, including applying for asylum or marrying a U.S. citizen to seek a spouse visa.

At the rally, Ann Drzewiecki, a retired teacher and a New London resident, said she is helping collect donations for an “Immigrant Relief Fund” at Community First Credit Union.

Drzewiecki said she hopes to offer support to offset rent, utilities, and legal fees for the workers, who will soon lose their livelihoods and their health insurance.

“What they are doing to these immigrants is illegal. It’s wrong for our country,” said Sue Krejcarek, 67, who held a sign reading “Stop! CHNV Visa Terminations!”. “It’s for my grandchildren. It’s for the world that they’re gonna live in, and it’s for the world of these immigrants. I was an immigrant.”

“Everybody is an immigrant,” said Amy Kuehl, 80, another rally attendee.

Zhen Wang is a business reporter for The Post-Crescent. Reach her with story tips and feedback at zwang@gannett.com or 920-993-7117.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Tyson Foods to terminate immigrant CHNV program workers in New London