This story was updated Monday, Aug. 31 to reflect new figures on the number of immigrants detained in Fairfield County.
DANBURY – City and state officials told activists Wednesday that they are “powerless” to stop President Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from “disappearing” their immigrant residents who are legally in the country. This admission comes at a time when ICE agents staged their second massive wave of raids in two years leading to the detention of at least 50 people this week who work in the area and have children attending public schools.
Apparently, ICE agents timed the abductions for the first week of school as many of their SUVs were seen at or near school bus stops, a day care center and even a church, according to eyewitness reports.
As of Monday morning, Connecticut Public reports that immigrant advocates continued to report sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials mainly across Fairfield County as of Friday morning, following a weeklong clampdown that resulted in the detention of at least 100 people, according to immigrant organizations.
“It almost feels like a natural disaster has occurred,” Tabitha Sookdeo, the executive director of the youth-led organization Connecticut Students for a Dream (C4D), told Connecticut Public.
C4D oversees an initiative called the Connecticut Immigrant Support Network which coordinates a statewide network of organizations working with immigrant communities.
Sookdeo said the network had confirmed 94 detentions as of Thursday evening across Bridgeport, Danbury, Hamden, Hartford, Redding, and Stamford.
Danbury was the hardest hit with 64 detentions, followed by Bridgeport at 11 and Stamford at eight.
The method of abduction ICE agents used this year was to target school bus stops during morning and afternoon drop-offs by their parents, many of whom were taken over the past three days. ICE agents took 16 people on Monday, Aug. 24, followed by 10 on Tuesday, Aug. 25 and 25 on Wednesday, Aug. 26, according to the activist group Greater Danbury Unites for Immigrant Rights. According to the activist group’s Facebook page, ICE returned for a fourth consecutive day on Thursday in the areas of Moss Avenue, Lake Avenue Extension and Franklin Street.
On Thursday Norwalk became the fourth Connecticut municipality to report ICE activity in its borders. It joins Danbury, Stamford and Bridgeport. Norwalk Mayor Barbara Smyth issued a statement: “I have been made aware of reports of federal immigration enforcement activity in and around Norwalk today. I understand that this news may cause fear and uncertainty for members of our community, particularly for immigrant families who may be directly or indirectly impacted.”
However, there were no reports of abductions as of Thursday evening.
“This week we’ve seen close to 50 members of our community detained,” said Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves. “That’s what we know of. We are very well aware that number is likely higher. ICE has increased enforcement, has stepped up their tactics with an intentional brutality that you have all have seen.
“The operations coincided with the start of school here in Danbury. Children should be focused on learning, focused on seeing their friends that they haven’t seen all summer.”
Alves spoke at a press conference at Kennedy Park in downtown Danbury where many day laborers congregate early in the morning seeking their work for the day. He was joined by Gov. Ned Lamont, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, city Police Chief Patrick Ridenhour and a couple of local immigrant activists.
The question officials were trying to answer over the protests of Danbury residents and immigrant activists was how the mayor and the state could stop the raids – the second such wave in the past two years in the city.
“What can we do? This. It’s bringing people together and letting the federal government know that this can’t stand. It’s bringing in all the stakeholders,” Mayor Alves said. “Those who have access to the people in power that we don’t want this here. Give us the reason. We have to use the court. The tools are limited. We know that.”
Alves, an immigrant from Brazil, had spent most of the day Wednesday speaking with the governor, the fellow Democrat Congressional delegation and immigrant activists to plan how to best help the families of those who were “disappeared” and other who may be taken. One part of his plan is to let Danbury residents know who need to be taken to task for the current situation.
Tales of abduction and near-abduction
Two of those activists who spoke at the press conference was Clementina Lunar, volunteer advocate for Greater Danbury Unites for Immigrants, and Juan Fonseca Tapia, founder of the group. Lunar took the podium to cheers from most of the residents and fellow activists on hand.
“I am so sad about the way our city has been attacked,” Lunar said. “In the last three days, ICE has been terrorizing our Danbury members and families. I just came from dropping off red cards to someone who was too scared to go to leave their job and go home. She feels that red cards are a shield. She wants them with her. She wouldn’t leave her workplace until I got there.”
She took the podium to cheers from most of the residents and fellow activists on hand.
“I am so sad about the way our city has been attacked,” Lunar said. “In the last three days, ICE has been terrorizing our Danbury members and families. I just came from dropping off red cards to someone who was too scared to go to leave their job and go home. She feels that red cards are a shield. She wants them with her. She wouldn’t leave her workplace until I got there.”
Red cards are pocket-sized reference cards that help individuals assert their constitutional rights if they encounter immigration enforcement. Her group hands out the cards to immigrant families who fear they may be taken by ICE agents to remind the agents of their rights. They also take care of children whose parents have been abducted by the agents and provide food and support.
“I spoke to a family whose child’s eyes saw from the school bus that came out of the house to put his child on the bus,” Lunar said. “Then when he handed the child to the bus helper, ICE came up to him and took all the people.”
Around 2:45 p.m., ICE agents were seen by this reporter and residents pulling over a blue Subaru on Osborne Street near the intersection with Balmforth and Garamella Boulevard. It turned out that spot is a school bus stop where children had just been dropped off. While no one was detained or arrested, according to an ICE agent who spoke with Fairfield County Business Journal, an Osborne resident in a car yelled profanities at the agent and his partner. Another ICE agent who was patrolling the sidewalk was seen donning a face mask, which is illegal under the state’s revised Trust Act.
A parent who was in her vehicle waiting for her child to get off the bus told the Journal that she saw the ICE agents pull over the Subaru and asking for IDs. She added that agents had been asking parents for IDs and letting them go. She told the Journal at first she thought it was a car accident. She was afraid because she is Latina. She said she was trying to get the agents away from the bus stop area.
Impact on businesses
About an hour before the press conference at around 3 p.m. Main Street was a ghost town as some businesses had closed their doors and the ones still open were absent customers. There was nearly any pedestrian traffic near and around Kennedy Park other than a person blowing a whistle warning others that ICE was in the area.
Protesters perched on White Street next to the courthouse with signs calling for the government to “Abolish ICE” described what they had seen over the previous three days.
“Right across the street these are thriving businesses, but not today,” Bruce Willett of Ridgefield said. “This (pointing across the street) is a Mexican bakery and this is a Mexican restaurant. All the negocios, or businesses, on Main Street (have no one showing up).”
He added that he had spoken to someone at a nearby church.
“She is telling people not to come to church today,” he said. “She was having a meeting and decided not to have that meeting. They (ICE agents) were targeting this church on Granville Street (St. Anthony’s). And they have been targeting day care centers and public schools.”
The owner of a local Ecuadoran restaurant on White Street called La Kabanita Restaurante reported that his business has taken a huge hit financially over the past three days.
“It’s crazy,” said Juan Contreras. “We usually take in about $3,000 a day. That fell to $1,500 on Monday, $900 on Tuesday and today about $200. We’ve had 70% less business.”
Mayor Alves empathized with all the small business owners, especially the Latino ones.
“We need to call out the other side,” he said. “I’ve had folks that reached out to me who are business owners and I have let them have it. Folks who I know who voted red and voted for this and told me that I didn’t think this would happen. I said what did you think was going to happen. You thought it was cute to put on that little red hat. You knew who you hired.
“Now this is hurting their pockets. I’ve always said if the humanitarian side of this doesn’t hit me, then maybe the economics side will.”
He went further, calling for exposing those local businesses that voted for President Trump and his aggressive immigration policies.
“Let’s highlight the businesses that are hurting the folks who supported that,” the mayor said. “This is going to end in November and two Novembers from now.”
