Immigration advocates are using a billboard on a well-traveled highway in Connecticut to remind U.S. immigrants of their rights. The message is being displayed continuously cycled on the electric billboard along Interstate 95 in New Haven near Tweed New Haven Airport.
The billboard says in Spanish “Conoce Tus Derechos,” which translates to “Know Your Rights,” as well as “Stay Silent,” “Don’t Sign” and “Call a Lawyer” in both England and Spanish. The billboard also lists a website to download a “Know Your Rights” card and provides resources from the National Immigration Law Center.
The billboard was funded by AvGeek Action Alliance, which is headed by Seth Miller, a state representative in New Hampshire. Miller is also an independent aviation journalist. He said the new billboard, which went up on Feb. 4 and will run through next month, is for immigrants to understand their rights and that “things aren’t necessarily as they have been presented to them by the government.”
“This billboard is about helping people who are in the area to understand that despite the behavior of the Department of Homeland Security and ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement), they do have rights,” Miller said.
“The law still does exist. They should not be forced to sign documents especially given that so many are falsely being presented. It means one thing and it does another. They do have the right to remain silent,” Miller said. “They do have the right to an attorney. So in this case we picked a bilingual approach Spanish and English because again so many of the people are natively Spanish speakers and are confused about the situation.”
Carolina Bortolleto, a volunteer with Danbury Unites for Immigrants, said the billboard will be helpful to immigrants in multiple ways.
“We are living in a time where immigrant families are living in fear,” Bortolleto said. “They see ICE presence in the streets, on the news. It’s important for folks to know their rights. The billboard is a public display to show them that they are not alone in Connecticut. It’s a reminder that there are people around that care about immigrants.
“In Connecticut, we have seen people who have people who have had a family member detained by ICE,” she added. “They have been reaching out for support and not knowing what to do. We have been hosting a lot of “know your rights” training sessions for them to know what their rights are if ICE comes to their house. We let them know what to do if ICE stops you on the street or in your car. As an immigrant, you still have rights. ICE will not always respect your rights, but we help them know how to exercise their rights.”
Bortolleto said she was troubled by the ICE raids of Connecticut car washes last year in Southington and Hamden.
“The billboard is a public reminder to people that here in Connecticut we want our neighbors to feel safe,” she said. “We know people are living in fear. I’m an immigrant myself. It’s easy to think that no one cares about you in the community. One of the most powerful things people can do is to show their support that they want immigrant families to feel safe.”
The “Know Your Rights” billboard has replaced the billboard campaigning against Avelo Airlines. The campaign boycotting the airline was shown from April 2025 to January 2026 before the airline halted deportation flights in early January. Miller said the billboard was paid for with the assistance of Indivisible groups. One of Avelo’s major hubs is in New Haven.
“Avelo, a commercial airline, was running deportation flights in addition to their regular service,” Miller said. “There’s been some other groups that reached out and raised some additional money for a second round that started in December and then Avelo finally announced last month that they were going to halt their participation in those flights.
“I had already contracted the billboards through the end of March. It was time for a change. I reached out to some different (immigrant advocate) groups in the area, and I was put in touch with Connecticut Shoreline Indivisible,” he said.
Miller said he main reason for the Avelo billboard was to provide awareness to deportation flights.
“People didn’t know about it,” Miller said. “Awareness is a big challenge, and I raised money and contracted the billboard last year. Within four days we had a cease-and-desist letter from Avelo’s attorney’s that I had infringed on their trademarks and copyrights. It kicked off a legal battle which remains ongoing and I have a court hearing in April even though they have decided to stop operating the flights and as a result I no longer have a billboard.”
Miller said he hopes the new billboard will have the same type of impact.