David Schraeger: Oct 18 Princeton NO KINGS rally for Resistencia en Acción New Jersey – Interjects Opposition to US War Upon Venezuela
This editor has known David Schraeger since 1980s when we were both engaged in the struggle to end US aid to death squad government in El Salvador. I went to the Princeton NO KINGS rally primarily to educate participants through face to face communcation about the dangers of NSPM7. I was certainly happy to learn that David was invited to present at this sizable event. I was working the crowd and when he came on I tried to gently work my way to the front because I wanted to capture it on video. I managed to get there but as it turns out I never properly turned the recorder on. But my being front and center came in handy – as I was happy to hear David close his presentation with a reference and a demand that the US not attack the nation and people of Venezuela and he made it clear that Democrats are also supporting this attack. I cheered him on by shouting Venezuela several times – and as he walked off I showed the front and center crowd my proudly adorned HANDS OFF VENEZUELA shirt that I had worn special for this occasion – but without knowing how appropriate would the opportunity to once again collaborate with David to amplify his very important words. His presentation – with the pre-written words appears below – I definitely recommend watching the videos and sharing them separately perhaps – they each have their own merit.
I hope this finds you all well. This afternoon, 10/18/2025, I gave a speech before 2,000 or more people at the No Kings Day Protest in Princeton, NJ. I was introduced by the Rev. Robert Moore, Executive Director of the NJ-based Coalition for Peace Action. Rev. Moore claimed there were 5,000 people there. This was the introduction:
“Our next speaker is Dave Schraeger. Dave Schraeger is a founding member and currently President of Resistencia en Acción NJ, formerly Unidad Latina en Acción NJ. He was also a founding member of Casa Freehold, another immigrant-rights organization. He is a retired state worker and shop steward with CWA (Communications Workers of America). Dave is also a longtime anti-war activist. He has a master’s degree in Spanish and believes in the peaceful struggle for equality for all.”
My remarks were as indicated below:
David Schraeger Oct 18 Princeton NO KINGS rally for Resistencia en Acción New Jersey Part 1
¡Buenas tardes! Good afternoon! Resistencia en Acción NJ is an immigrant-rights organization based in Princeton and Trenton. Our membership is multinational, multi-racial, multi-gender, multi-religious, straight and LGBTQIA+. We are not a political party and we don’t care if you are a Republican or a Democrat: If you attack immigrants, we are not on the same side. It’s as simple as that.
We are proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with all of you on this No Kings Day to do our part to try to save what little remains of this admittedly imperfect democracy. We believe that the struggle for immigrant rights is key to the struggle for democracy itself. In her book, Strongmen: From Mussolini to the Present, Ruth Ben-Ghiat points out that both Hitler and Mussolini started out by attacking immigrants.
David Schraeger Oct 18 Princeton NO KINGS rally for Resistencia en Acción New Jersey Part 2
We support racial equality, gender equality, LGBTQIA+ rights, the right to migrate, equality for people of all religions and nationalities and equality of rights for all regardless of immigration status. We support the rights of domestic workers, temporary workers and day laborers as well as labor unions and the rights of all workers to organize. We educate and organize immigrants to fight wage-theft cases. Wage theft is a big issue among immigrant workers even though State and Federal Wage and Hour laws give the same protections to immigrants as to US citizens for minimum wage, overtime, prevailing wage on public works projects and the payment of wages. We oppose deportation. We say: “¡Ni una deportación más! Not one more deportation!”
We started out in Hightstown as Unidad Latina en Acción NJ in 2009 and, starting during Obama’s presidency, we rescued over 40 people from ICE detention and obtained their release through peaceful organizing and advocacy. About a year and a half or 2 years ago, we changed our name to Resistencia en Acción NJ which means “Resistence in Action NJ” because we actively resist Trump and the deportation machine. We have 87 volunteers in our Rapid Response Team — yes, that’s right — 87 — brave women and men who are trained by the ACLU as to how to legally confront and challenge ICE agents when they appear in our neighborhoods.
David Schraeger Oct 18 Princeton NO KINGS rally for Resistencia en Acción New Jersey Part 3
If you would like to join our Rapid Response Team or if you spot ICE in your neighborhoods, please call our Rapid Response Team at: (640) 466-2386. We answer and respond at all hours of the day. We have successfully chased ICE agents away because what they are doing is not legal. We shout out to announce the presence of ICE so that nobody opens their doors. Someone posted a video on social media claiming, falsely, that ICE was not showing up in NJ because there is a competitive Governor’s race going on, but that is a lie! ICE has not had much success in rounding up immigrants because of immigrant-rights Rapid Response Teams. That’s the only reason. ICE tries to deceive people with what they call “administrative warrants” that are not signed by a judge and do not name a defendant. These are not legal warrants. It is of utmost importance, not only for immigrants, but for all of us, that we win this struggle against authoritarianism and fascism. This is a question of survival. We have no other choice.
I am happy to report that the Borough of Princeton became the 14th municipality in NJ to endorse the Immigrant Trust Act. The NJ Immigrant Trust Act (S3672/A4987) is legislation that limits the involvement of state and local agencies and law enforcement with federal immigration enforcement. We have been struggling for years to stop local police from collaborating with ICE and terrorizing our immigrant communities. Immigration is federal law. Local police should not be involved in immigration actions. We want to make sure that all residents, regardless of immigration status, can access essential services such as healthcare, education and legal assistance without fear of deportation, detention or family separation. The act would create new data privacy protections and strengthen the separation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. We are planning to attend a meeting this Tuesday, on October 21, 2025 at 5:00 pm at Trenton City Hall, 319 E. State St., 2nd Floor, Trenton, NJ to demand that the Trenton Police stop collaborating with ICE. Please join us if you can!
David Schraeger Oct 18 Princeton NO KINGS rally for Resistencia en Acción New Jersey Part 4
Since neither the politicians, nor the courts are coming to the rescue, it is up to us. The US Supreme Court has given ICE permission to engage in racial profiling. As we say: “¡Sólo el pueblo salva el pueblo! Only the people can save the people!”
Although our main focus has to do with domestic immigration issues, we respect the right of self-determination of all countries. We are concerned about the Democrats who have joined with the Republicans in voting for funding to invade Venezuela. Hands off Venezuela!
¡Chinga la migra! Screw ICE! Deporting immigrants just ain’t right! Impeach Trump and shut down ICE! No Kings! Not today! Not ever!
