Machinists, allies demand freedom for Brother Max

IAM International President Brian Bryant joined fellow Machinists, family, labor and community allies to call for Maximo Londonio to be released from ICE detention

TACOMA, WA (June 9, 2025) — Over a hundred union members, community supporters, and Machinist leaders joined the family of Maximo Londonio outside the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) on Friday to call for brother Max to be released and returned to his loved ones.

Maximo, a member of IAM Local Lodge 695, has been detained at NWDC since mid-May.

IAM International President Brian Bryant and the General Vice President for the Western Region, Robert “Bobby” Martinez, traveled to Washington to join local IAM leadership and members for the rally. In a fiery speech, Bryant condemned Max’s detention, calling out the Trump administration’s targeting of immigrants with legal permanent resident status, like Maximo.

IAM International President Brian Bryant addresses the crowd.

La Resistencia — a community group that has been leading the fight to shut down NWDC — shared updates about current conditions inside NWDC, information learned from people detained. La Resistenica closely tracks people entering and leaving the detention center, and believes more than 1,500 people are being held in inhuman conditions, lacking proper food or medical care. So many people held in fact, that there aren’t enough places for them all to sleep.

Crystal Londonio spoke for her husband, detained on the way back from a family trip celebrating their wedding anniversary. Through tears, she called for Maximo’s release, and echoed the comments of community group Tanggol Migrante, who have described the lack of support from the Filipino embassy, despite their duty to support Filipino nationals like Londonio.

Crystal Londonio (in yellow, left), IAM International and local leadership, IAM members, fellow union members, and community allies at Friday’s rally.

April Sims, President of the Washington State Labor Council, shared love and solidarity with Crystal Londonio, and all brother Max’s family, offering the support of the entire union family. And she shared that the WSLC endorsed the La Resistencia-led campaign to shut down NWDC more than five years ago due to the horrific conditions at the for-profit facility, and a recognition that the mass detention and deportation of immigrants harms all working people.

WSLC President April Sims speaks at Friday’s rally.

“For years, we have seen immigration policies weaponized to break worker solidarity and sow fear among workers who stand up for ourselves,” said Sims. “Now, the federal administration is leading a campaign of terror, targeting immigrant communities. They want us to believe immigrants are threats to our safety. But that is a lie. Immigrants are our loved ones, they are our coworkers and they are our neighbors. Maximo Londonio is our brother.”

As Sims spoke, another bus used to transport immigrants to detention arrived at the facility. The busses are white, with fully blacked out windows preventing anyone outside seeing in, and anyone inside seeing out. Despite this effort to isolate, rallygoers shared a message of solidarity with anyone inside, repeatedly chanting, “you are not alone” as the bus moved past.

While brother Max’s loved ones and coworkers await the next steps in the long, slow administrative process, their community is rallying behind them. To support Max’s family, donations are being collected in a GoFundMe to help cover legal expenses, and living expenses for his family while he is out of work.