Make the Road Connecticut is a left-of-center community organizing group that focuses on immigration issues and organizes protests, community services, and political advocacy efforts among the immigrant community in Connecticut. The group is a project of Make the Road States, a nonprofit advocacy group that also hosts chapters in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. Make the Road States and its affiliates are modeled on Make the Road New York, a large immigrant organizing group based in New York City. Make the Road Connecticut and its affiliates are all affiliated with the network’s political action arm, Make the Road Action. ¹

All the Make the Road groups are all fiscally sponsored by and affiliated with the Center for Popular Democracy. The group supports various left-of-center economic and immigration policy positions including taxpayer funded healthcare for illegal immigrants, local “sanctuary city” ordinances, and rental assistance for illegal immigrants. ^{2 3}

Background

Make the Road Connecticut was founded in 2017. The group formed as an affiliate of the  the Center for Popular Democracy and was inspired by the more established Make the Road New York, a New York City immigrant organizing and advocacy group founded in 1997. The New York chapter of the group has had a longstanding affiliation with the Center for Popular Democracy, the political operation of former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D), and the left-wing Working Families Party. ^{4 5}

Make the Road Connecticut is formally organized as a branch of Make the Road States, an umbrella group for the Make the Road chapters other than New York’s that was formed in 2020 and was a project of the Center for Popular Democracy before Make the Road States was formed. The organization reported receiving more than $7 million in funding in 2020 and had more than $5 million in assets. The principal officer listed for Make the Road States is Deborah Axt, who is also the deputy director of Make the Road New York. ^{6 7}

Policies supported by Make the Road Connecticut include promotion of state and local “sanctuary” laws that prohibit coordination between local law enforcement and federal authorities, promoting an “ESL/bilingual bill of rights” in Connecticut, and promoting taxpayer-funded healthcare in Connecticut for all residents regardless of immigration status. ⁸

Activities

Make the Road Connecticut has announced plans to create community services similar to those offered by other Make the Road chapters such as English-as-a-second-language (ESL) classes, Spanish classes for youth, and college counseling. The group also plans to provide pro-bono representation on immigration law matters, health care law, and COVID assistance. ^{9 10}

Make the Road Connecticut sponsors a “Fightback Committee” that actively encourages “activat[ing] rapid response and deportation defense networks” to assist illegal immigrants from being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ¹¹

In 2023, Make the Road Connecticut opened an initiative, “the people’s mansion” ¹² in Bridgeport, CT intended to act as a center for “immigrant, Latinx, first generation folks,” ¹³ according to Barba Lopez, the group’s executive director. According to Lopez, the mansion was created to, “serve as a community hub where we can continue to do community organizing, provide legal and survival services.” ¹⁴

Leadership

Barbara Lopez has served as the Executive Director of the group since 2015. She previously was a union organizer for the Services Employees International Union (SEIU) from 2012-2015, working in SEIU 1199 New England. ¹⁵

Financials

In 2022, Make the Road Connecticut received a $158,009 grant from the Center for Popular Democracy, a left-of-center organization that has provided funding to other Make the Road States affiliates. ¹⁶

1. “Home.” Make the Road Action. Accessed April 21, 2022. https://www.maketheroadaction.org/
2. “About Us.” Make the Road Connecticut. Accessed April 21, 2022. https://www.maketheroadct.org/about-us
3. “Home.” Make the Road New York. Accessed April 21, 2022. https://maketheroadny.org/
4. “About Us.” Make the Road Connecticut. Accessed April 21, 2022. https://www.maketheroadct.org/about-us
5. Suebsaeng, Asawin. “These Are the Groups Behind Those ‘Spontaneous’ Anti-Trump-Ban Protests.” The Daily Beast. February 02, 2017. Accessed April 18, 2022. http://www.thedailybeast.com/these-are-the-groups-behind-those-spontaneous-anti-trump-ban-protests
6. “Make the Road States.” Guidestar. Accessed April 21, 2022. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/84-3988830#summary
7. “Deborah Axt.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 21, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborah-axt-1202a84/
8. “2021 Annual Report.” Make the Road Connecticut. Accessed April 21, 2022. http://www.maketheroadct.org/_files/ugd/7867a1_7f442a82653e455da69c30a202bb319e.pdf
9. “2021 Annual Report.” Make the Road Connecticut. Accessed April 21, 2022. http://www.maketheroadct.org/_files/ugd/7867a1_7f442a82653e455da69c30a202bb319e.pdf
10. “Our Services.” Make the Road New Jersey. Accessed April 21, 2022. https://maketheroadnj.org/category/our-services/
11. “2020 Annual Report.” Make the Road Connecticut. Accessed April 21, 2022.  http://www.maketheroadct.org/_files/ugd/7867a1_6720c68ec4e543ca97eb451560664b00.pdf
12. Caffrey, Jane. “Make the Road Connecticut Opens ‘people’s Mansion’ to Serve Bridgeport Community.” NBC Connecticut, July 6, 2023. https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/make-the-road-connecticut-opens-peoples-mansion-to-serve-bridgeport-community/3061332/.
13. Caffrey, Jane. “Make the Road Connecticut Opens ‘people’s Mansion’ to Serve Bridgeport Community.” NBC Connecticut, July 6, 2023. https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/make-the-road-connecticut-opens-peoples-mansion-to-serve-bridgeport-community/3061332/.
14. Caffrey, Jane. “Make the Road Connecticut Opens ‘people’s Mansion’ to Serve Bridgeport Community.” NBC Connecticut, July 6, 2023. https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/make-the-road-connecticut-opens-peoples-mansion-to-serve-bridgeport-community/3061332/.
15. “Barbara Lopez.” LinkedIn, Accessed March 4, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbara-lopez-512a25176
16. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Center for Popular Democracy. 2022. Schedule I. Part II. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/453813436/202303179349307965/full