On Monday, Juliana Soares Martins responded to a suspected sighting of federal immigration officers in Danbury, just up the street from the federal court house. When her rapid response team got to the reported location, they were too late.
鈥淎 woman was taken,鈥� Soares Martins said the woman鈥檚 car was left behind. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a child seat in the car, there's receipts, there's toys. It was a remnant of a life that she was just ripped away from.鈥�
Soares Martins was one of many activists with the collective of immigrant-led organizations , who were responding to reports of ICE activity in Danbury on Monday.
Activists said they were distributing and of potential ICE presence since 6 a.m.
According to community leaders with Greater Danbury Unites for Immigrants, ICE agents had been actively taking individuals off the streets since Saturday. Based on eye witness accounts and , group members allege that between 10 and 15 community members were taken by ICE agents between Saturday and Monday.
Federal immigration officials did not respond to requests for comment.
Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves issued a statement on Tuesday.
"While I am aware of ICE activity in Danbury yesterday and over the past weekend, neither the City nor the Danbury Police Department was informed,鈥� Alves said. 鈥淲e do not coordinate with these agencies, and they do not coordinate with us."
Soares Martins joined the immigrant-led group a few months ago, but she said the experience she had Monday in her city left her feeling both uneasy and angry.
鈥淭he most unnerving thing was the amount of ICE vehicles that just stay parked and lurk in our cities without knowing, like, who's in it, what they're doing,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey'll literally park for hours on a street and just watch us live with the excuse that it's investigative work, but we don't really trust that.鈥�
At one point Monday, Soares Martins said an apparent ICE agent rolled down the tinted window of an unmarked vehicle to show that she was being recorded while she was walking down the street.
鈥淭hey're like snakes slithering around in our neighborhood,鈥� Soares Martins said, 鈥渂ecause they park, they wait, and they just disappear with people.鈥�
鈥淚CE out of Danbury鈥�
Over 100 activists and allies in Danbury gathered in front of the court house Tuesday to denounce the presence of ICE in their city.
As they stood listening to community members speak, white roses were being passed around. On the stems were little slips of paper that read, 鈥淔ather kidnapped by ICE鈥� or 鈥淒aughter kidnapped by ICE鈥� or similar statements.
Many attendees also held signs that had silhouettes of adults and children with writing underneath that read 鈥淜idnapped by ICE on June 16.鈥�
Karen Hunter, one of the leaders with , shared that she was giving out to people who passed by on the street.
Hunter said she handed cards out to two young women who were walking down the sidewalk talking and laughing. She said she found out a short time later that the two women were detained, or in her words 鈥渒idnapped鈥�, down the road.
鈥淭his is heartbreaking, and it's wrong,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he image of this is never going to go out of my head.鈥�
Hunter joined other speakers in encouraging attendees to continue showing up to rallies, but to get involved with the pro-immigrant organizations in the area.
Chanting 鈥渘o fear, no hate, no ICE in our state鈥� and other anti-ICE rallying cries, the crowd walked up and down Moss Ave that鈥檚 across from the court house where an individual was seen allegedly being taken by ICE.
After the short walk, they held their white flowers up high in the air and then placed them at the base of a utility pole in honor of the unnamed individuals that were taken.
Standing tall despite heartbreak
It鈥檚 rare for La Mexicana Bakery of Danbury to be empty of hungry patrons, but Yesenia Bernabe, whose parents own the bakery, said that鈥檚 all they saw on Monday.
鈥淲e had people calling and asking if it was safe to come, and asking if there was something that we could do,鈥� Bernabe said. 鈥淭here was nobody in the bakery.鈥�
The bakery is right next to Moss Ave, one of the streets on which apparent ICE agents were seen taking an individual.
鈥淚t's heartbreaking to see these families being scared to get their daily necessities. And it's overwhelming,鈥� Bernabe said. 鈥淚'm scared for the people that have to go out and they might be taken away from their families and they never come back home.鈥�
According to Bernabe, a customer recently came into the bakery and shared that their cousin never returned home. Bernabe said the customer was almost certain that federal immigration officers took their cousin.
鈥淚 feel like there's nothing I could do,鈥� Bernabe said. 鈥淪o, it hurts.鈥�
Although all the ICE activity and its impact on her community has left her feeling raw with emotion, Bernabe said she just reminds herself of what her father always tells her.
鈥淢y dad has always stood on the idea and the belief that as a community, and as specifically Latinos, we are very valuable, and our voice is very powerful,鈥� Bernabe said. 鈥淲e're showing that we're not going to close, or we're not going to be scared, or we're not going to just completely shut out everything鈥� We're still open, we're still here. Nothing's going to bring us down.鈥�
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