Hundreds rally in Newburgh for May Day, labor and immigration rights

Hundreds of people filled Downing Park in Newburgh on Friday for a May Day rally that linked local activism to national labor and immigration fights, with organizers calling for taxing the rich, ending ICE raids, protecting voting rights and putting working families first.

The gathering, held at the city’s largest public park, was part of the May Day Strong coalition, a national network that says it anchored more than 1,000 events across the country in 2025. Event materials framed the rally as part of International Workers Day and tied it to late-19th-century labor history, underscoring that the message was aimed well beyond a single city park.

Organizers also marked the 20th anniversary of the 2006 Day Without an Immigrant demonstrations, placing Newburgh’s rally inside a wider movement that once produced roughly 400 protest actions in more than 200 U.S. cities and towns and drew an estimated 6 million participants. That history gave the Newburgh event added political weight, especially as immigration enforcement and worker protections remain central issues in Hudson Valley politics.

The rally’s setting mattered. Downing Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux and named for Newburgh native Andrew Jackson Downing, sits in the heart of the city and is known for its hills, valleys, streams, pond and serpentine paths. For a demonstration focused on labor rights and immigrant justice, it provided both a symbolic backdrop and a practical gathering place for a coalition built around community groups and immigrant-rights organizers.

Newburgh’s demographics help explain why those themes resonate. Census-based profiles put the city’s population at 28,519 and show a large Hispanic population, making immigration policy an especially local issue even when the demands come from a national coalition. No arrests or police problems were reported, keeping the day squarely in the realm of peaceful political mobilization.

The turnout suggested that Newburgh remains one of Orange County’s most reliable stages for civic organizing. Last year’s May Day march in the city included Councilwoman Giselle Martinez, Councilman Omari Shakur and Orange County Legislator Genesis Ramos, a sign that elected officials have already been willing to stand beside worker- and immigrant-rights activists there. With another large crowd turning out at Downing Park, the pressure on local officials, employers and advocacy groups is likely to continue into the spring.