Officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s New England Office announced Wednesday that they had arrested 65 immigrants in Connecticut in a four-day operation dubbed “Operation Broken Trust.”
The announcement comes after advocates in multiple cities in Western Connecticut alerted residents and organized protests about increased federal immigration enforcement activity last week.
Last Thursday, immigration advocates held a rally in Stamford to protest recent ICE activity in the city. Two men were reportedly arrested at the Stamford Superior Courthouse on Aug. 11. According to reporting by CT Public, the two men were there for a follow-up appointment after being the victims of an armed robbery.
The group Greater Danbury Unites for Immigrants said in a Thursday release that federal agents have been seen at the courthouse on a regular basis. The group says that on Aug. 12, six people were arrested on their way to work, and an additional four were arrested on Aug. 13. On Aug. 14, two people were allegedly arrested at Danbury Superior Court.
Videos posted on social media show confrontations between advocacy groups and ICE agents in the parking lot of Danbury Superior Court, as the officials arrest a man and a woman. The videos show a group of officers dressed in tactical gear, some of whom wore masks.
According to ICE, 29 of the 65 people arrested had been either charged with or convicted of “serious crimes.” Of the 13 people named in the release, five were arrested in Stamford, two in Norwalk, and six in Danbury. Some of the 13 people identified in the release had been convicted of crimes, including drug possession, sexual assault, DUI and larceny, according to ICE. Others were facing charges, including assault, breach of peace, and carrying a dangerous weapon.
It isn’t clear from the release how many of the 65 people arrested had been convicted of crimes.
In Norwalk, ICE officers sat in the parking lot of the police department on Thursday and Friday. Mayor Harry Rilling and Police Chief James Walsh put out a statement on Friday saying that ICE had not been authorized to sit in the parking lot and that they were asked to leave on both days. Rilling said during a press conference on Friday that the police department was not working with ICE.
Walsh said that he and Rilling had a long conversation with federal authorities to “voice their displeasure” about ICE officers’ using the parking lot. Walsh told The Connecticut Mirror on Wednesday that he did not know of any additional ICE activity this week.
Police in Danbury, Norwalk and Stamford all told CT Mirror that they were not aware of “Operation Broken Trust” and that they did not know the number of people who were arrested or detained by ICE.
A video posted to social media showed two brothers, Ricardo and Leonard Chavez, tased and arrested by ICE agents in Norwalk in the middle of the street. Walsh said at the press conference that police had removed a vehicle with smashed windows from Main Street.
ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde criticized Connecticut’s Trust Act, which prohibits local and state law enforcement from cooperating with ICE, unless the person has been convicted of certain serious crimes, is on the federal terrorist list or is the subject of a judicial warrant.
“Sanctuary legislation like Connecticut’s Trust Act only endangers the communities it claims to protect. Such laws only force law enforcement professionals to release criminal alien offenders back into the very communities they have already victimized,” Hyde told Fox News.
This year, the Trust Act was modified to allow individuals to sue over alleged violations of the law but also expanded the situations in which officials can comply with federal immigration detainers — and not be subject to such litigation. Sexual assault, injury or risk of injury to a child, strangulation, burglary with a firearm, possessing child sexual abuse material, enticing or sexually exploiting a minor and violating a protective order are now crimes that allow Connecticut law enforcement to hand someone over to ICE.
On Aug. 13, U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi sent a letter to Gov. Ned Lamont in which she said that Connecticut had been placed on a list of jurisdictions that “engages in sanctuary policies and practices that thwart federal immigration enforcement to the detriment of the interests of the United States.”
She asked Lamont to confirm “your commitment to complying with federal law and identif[y] the immediate initiatives you are taking to eliminate laws, policies, and practices that impede federal immigration enforcement.”
Lamont wrote back that Connecticut law does not stop federal immigration enforcement from carrying out operations. He also criticized the federal government for practices like arresting people at courthouses, which he said make it more difficult for law enforcement officers to do their jobs.
“We all agree that violent criminals should be arrested, prosecuted, and, when appropriate, deported, which is why Connecticut law facilitates law enforcement working with federal officers in those instances. Unfortunately, DHS’s current deportation tactics undermine legitimate law enforcement by instilling fear among residents and interfering in the orderly functioning of our state courts,” the letter reads.
In a statement to CT Mirror, Rob Blanchard, a spokesperson for Lamont, underscored that Connecticut is not a “sanctuary” state — a term that he said has no legal definition.
“As [Operation Broken Trust] proves, nothing in Connecticut law prevented immigration officials from conducting these enforcement efforts, contrary to their own agency’s assertions,” Blanchard said.
Sen. Rob Harding, R-Brookfield, and Sen. Rob Sampson, R-Wolcott, called the ICE operation “excellent news.”
“Connecticut’s streets are now safer. Violent offenders are now in custody. The federal government clearly has taken note of Connecticut’s super-sanctuary policies, even though Gov. Lamont and Democrats really, really don’t want the term ‘sanctuary state’ applied to our state,” they said in a statement.
Rep. Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, the House Minority Leader, also praised ICE for its “successful operation targeting and removing criminals from our communities” while criticizing Connecticut’s policies, which he said “provide sanctuary for individuals with extensive criminal histories, including members of transnational gangs.”
“Connecticut residents want and deserve leadership that puts their safety first by working cooperatively with federal authorities to ensure that those who pose threats to our communities are captured and removed,” he said in a statement.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
