In a decision watched closely by both sides of the immigration debate, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security approved a preliminary agreement between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the city of Danbury authorizing federal agents to work with local police in ferreting out illegal immigrants.
The deal could have a significant impact on employers who rely on new immigrants to tackle low-paying jobs that are difficult to fill otherwise in growth economies.
While the recession sharply recalibrated the willingness of some people to take menial work in an attempt to make ends meet, the issue of illegal immigration remains a sticking point with labor groups and others.
The new agreement came even as President Obama said in Mexico last week that comprehensive immigration reform would be put off until at least next year, as he attempts to push forward an overhaul of health care and insurance.
Danbury attracted national attention in February 2008 after the city formally proposed linking up with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with some business leaders seeing it as a potential threat to a key source of labor in expensive Fairfield County. Protestors descended on City Hall and some business owners closed shop for the day to register their pique; the issue also was raised in the Congressional race between U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy and former U.S. Rep. Nancy Johnson.
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In a statement, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton indicated the city would not use the agreement as an excuse to hound legitimate employers and their immigrant workers, saying the measure was intended instead to direct resources toward criminals convicted of violent offenses, drug dealing and burglary, among others.
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“I strongly support and respect the important role that immigrants have played in Danbury”™s unique history,” said Boughton in a prepared statement after the agreement was revealed. “After all, we are a nation of immigrants and we are all descendents of immigrants. This new effort will allow Danbury to deal with the specific issue of illegal immigration and its criminal element.”
Boughton has been speaking out on the issue since at least 2002, when he lobbied the state”™s Congressional legislation to support immigration reform. In 2005 he co-founded Mayors & Executives for Immigration Reform with Steve Levy, Suffolk County executive in New York. The goal of the alliance was to organize local leaders to pressure the federal government to deal with the issue of illegal immigration and its impact on local governments in a reasonable and responsible way.
The following year, Boughton addressed a U.S. immigration conference in Brazil. At the time, he said that most of the city”™s vibrant Brazilian population arrived with proper visas, but said the city had a problem with visitors overstaying those visas and so becoming illegal aliens in the eyes of the law.
Danbury will initially have two detectives undergo two weeks of training with ICE, and police will gain access to federal databases in an effort to enforce immigration laws.
“This partnership will allow us to act more easily, swiftly and cost effectively to get dangerous offenders who are illegal immigrants into I.C.E. custody,” said Danbury Police Chief Al Baker.
