At least 20 residents were arrested Monday by immigration agents in Danbury, Bridgeport and Stamford, community advocates said, as reports of ICE activity continued into Tuesday.
Community members are concerned, said Tabitha Sookdeo, executive director of the group CT Students for a Dream.
“The scale of enforcement activity in our beloved state of Connecticut is at an all-time high,” Sookdeo said. “I have never seen anything like this.”
Advocates spent Monday and Tuesday working to piece together details of who was taken by federal agents and help affected families find legal support. That’s as local and state officials roundly condemned the ICE activity, saying agents shouldn’t be arresting people who don’t have a violent criminal background.
Sookdeo described the arrests as “indiscriminate.”
“We’re seeing people being pulled and thrown to the ground in parks – folks who are just trying to work, folks that have day laborer jobs,” Sookdeo said. “In Danbury, especially, we’re seeing an increased amount of violence towards community members.”
As of early Tuesday afternoon, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials had not yet responded to requests for comment on the increased activity.
U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, a Democrat who represents Danbury, said she’s been in touch with local and state officials following the elevated ICE presence. She said her office is available to assist Danbury residents who have questions regarding ICE activity.
“While I support policies that secure our borders, how that happens matters,” Hayes wrote in a social media post. “Detaining individuals, with no violent history, who have contributed to our communities, and followed the law as written, is not the way to achieve any stated goals.”
Advocates help identify who was taken
Early estimates on Monday afternoon found at least 16 people were arrested by ICE in Danbury, four in Stamford and one in Bridgeport, though advocates say there are likely more. That’s according to an internal document from CT Students for a Dream obtained by Connecticut Public. The document was shared with organization partners and elected officials.
About half of the people taken in Danbury were picked up at a day laborer site in the city, and others were arrested during stops outside residences or businesses.
One detained community member from Danbury requires dialysis treatment. Another is the father of a high school student.
“Many detained community members have no criminal or immigration history,” the document said. “The detention patterns in Danbury deviate from the more common trend of targeted arrests.”
Officials react in Danbury, Stamford
Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves posted a video on Facebook, sharing that he returned to the city Monday morning after traveling abroad. He said it appeared that immigration agents were “just pulling random people.”
“They were choosing folks who appear and look like they are from different parts of the world, mainly Central and South America. They are specifically targeting folks who are Latino,” Alves said. “This is fear-driven. This is meant to divide us.”
Alves encouraged people to “band together” but said the true way to beat this activity is at the polls.
“Be thankful that we have a state government in Connecticut that's willing to listen to folks and do work,” Alves said. “Elections do matter. Elections do have consequences, and this is one of them.”
In Stamford, four people detained by ICE work for different tree removal companies.
“Agents entered neighborhoods with large immigrant populations and detained people at random,” the report said. “Several individuals who were initially detained were released after showing documentation.”
Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons issued a statement and resources on Facebook, saying the city is inclusive and welcoming for all immigrants.
“I continue to be horrified by the cruelty of these actions,” she said. “Our city is not made safer when people are randomly removed from our streets and their rights are violated.”
Simmons and Stamford education officials have also shared school safety protocols, legal protections for students, and resources to public school families.
Little is known about Monday’s Bridgeport arrest.
The coalition of groups have activated an emergency protocol, which allows them to tap organizations to help “verify reports, document detentions, and connect affected families with legal support.”
Sookdeo called on citizens to get involved in advocacy work for their immigrant neighbors. She also said school superintendents should share their plans for protecting students and families as children return to schools. She also called on elected officials to help the community groups that help impacted families, either through more coordination, fundraising, or an emergency fund for those families.
“We need them to step up in ways that they haven’t before,” Sookdeo said. “A statement is nice. We need more than that.”
Learn more
The Connecticut Immigrant Support Network (CISN) has created a hub for immigrant resources in Connecticut that provides information for immigrant families, organizations, schools, and elected officials.
Additional resources can be found through Connecticut Public’s Immigrant Resource Guide.
Connecticut Public's Chris Polansky, Diana Montaño and Cassandra Basler contributed to this report.
