Norwalk and state officials are criticizing Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) agents for recent apprehensions across 黑料新闻, including Norwalk, after a widely-shared video showed a man being tased by ICE agents in mid-August.
Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, spoke about the incident Wednesday.
鈥淲hen we see in Norwalk, a man getting tased and hitting his head on pavement with somebody else, and his truck is just left there for his family to retrieve and where he has to be taken to the hospital; that's done by our federal agents,鈥� Duff said.
Duff also defended State Rep. Corey Paris, D-Stamford, who received death threats after warning residents online of ICE activity in his district.
Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling is among various local officials who say federal deportation efforts can also harm community relationships with city police, especially with immigrants.
Rilling said the lack of transparency from ICE agents makes it difficult for residents to tell who is who, as local police say recent incidents can even dissuade victims from coming forward.
Rilling spoke out recently after ICE agents twice attempted to enter a police station鈥檚 parking lot on Aug. 14.
鈥淲e want to first make it clear that Immigration Customs Enforcement were not invited to Norwalk,鈥� Rilling said. 鈥淭hey were not invited to use any facility in the city of Norwalk, including the police department parking lot, which we found rather inappropriate.鈥�
The city issued a statement, saying that ICE agents were asked to leave the parking lot and complied. But they came back the following day, when they were again asked to leave.
Norwalk Police Chief James Walsh said ICE agents鈥� presence can have a chilling effect on the local community, including undocumented residents.
鈥淲hat that does is it deters people from coming in there when they see that; we don't want that,鈥� Walsh said.
Rilling, who is a former Norwalk police chief, said the presence of ICE agents 鈥� who often wear masks, are in plainclothes and drive unmarked cars 鈥� can easily lead to residents mistaking them for local police.
Rilling said that can lead to a breakdown of trust between police and the local community, which contradicts ICE鈥檚 claims the operation makes the state safer.
鈥淲hen crimes against immigrants go unreported, it can lead to negative consequences, including the perpetuation of criminal activity, a lack of justice for the victims and increased fear within immigrant communities,鈥� Rilling said.
ICE confirms that Norwalk was among the cities where agents made recent arrests.
In a released on Wednesday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said that 65 people were apprehended by ICE in 黑料新闻 over a four-day span, Aug. 12-15, as part of what it calls "Operation Broken Trust."
鈥淭he state of 黑料新闻 is a safer place thanks to the hard work and determination of the men and women of ICE and our federal partners,鈥� said Patricia H. Hyde, the acting director of Boston鈥檚 ICE field office. She noted that many of those who were arrested had 鈥渟ignificant criminality.鈥�
The agency criticized 黑料新闻鈥檚 , the state law that limits local and state cooperation with federal deportation efforts, saying the state is harming local communities, .
鈥淪anctuary legislation like 黑料新闻鈥檚 Trust Act only endangers the communities it claims to protect," Hyde said, noting that the act forces law enforcement to release people 鈥渂ack into the very communities they have already victimized.鈥�
But the state law does not prevent local and state officials from working with ICE to detain people convicted of violent crimes.
Of the 65 people arrested during the four-day operation, ICE says 29 had previously been charged or convicted with crimes including kidnapping, assault, sex crimes, drug offenses and weapons violations. Others were
Federal officials identified 13 of the people arrested, outlining their criminal backgrounds.
Two of those identified were from Norwalk. One was convicted for sexual assault, threatening and drunk driving. Another resident faced criminal charges for selling cannabis.
In its statement, titled 鈥満诹闲挛� is a Sanctuary State no more," ICE said it also apprehended people who had foreign arrest warrants and notices from Interpol, a global police organization. ICE criticized 黑料新闻 jurisdictions for not honoring immigration detainer requests, blaming them for needing to make arrests within those communities.
Gov. Ned Lamont recently criticized federal efforts at characterizing 黑料新闻 as a sanctuary state. He wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi saying the sanctuary label has has no legal definition.
ICE did not answer requests for comment from 黑料新闻 regarding concerns by Norwalk officials that apprehensions could damage relations between Norwalk residents and police.
Rilling said Norwalk police were not notified by ICE of any upcoming operation.
The recent arrests by masked immigration agents reminded Rilling of an incident decades ago.
When Rilling was the city鈥檚 police chief in the 1990s, he heard state law enforcement had started anti-drug enforcement operations in the city. They wore masks, he said.
鈥淚 immediately called the state police commander and told them they will not wear masks in the city of Norwalk because they are not identifiable,鈥� Rilling said.
As local police departments have worked in recent years to build trust with immigrant communities, a study published last year found that undocumented immigrants from Latin America have similar levels of trust and respect for local police as the general population. That's
That changes when accounting for age differences. Older undocumented people are more likely to trust and have confidence in local police, especially when comparing them to local police forces in their countries of origin, many of which face long-standing criticisms over corruption and human rights abuses.
