Beginning October 1, federal immigration officers are limited in the places they can make arrests without a warrant in Connecticut.
ICE agents can no longer arrest people for civil offenses, such as immigration violations, in places like schools, hospitals and churches unless a judge gives permission.
The General Assembly passed the law earlier this year, before this summer’s raids in Danbury. Still, advocates point to those operations as proof that the law is needed.
“During the last week of August in Danbury, when over 60 of our neighbors were ripped from their homes, we saw ICE agents target parents at school bus stops the first day of school, target a grocery store parking lot, and target workers looking to support their families,” said Carolina Bortolleto, a volunteer with Danbury Unites for Immigrants. “By the end of the week, our Main Street was a desert. Parents were scared to take their kids to school, kids were scared to come home and find their parents gone, people were scared to go grocery shopping and to go to work.
“For almost 2 years, we have heard from community members who are afraid to go about their daily lives - afraid they will be asked for immigration status at the hospital, afraid to go seek help from a food bank or shelter, afraid that ICE will show up where immigrants gather - at church or a sports field,” she continued.
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) is trying to pass a similar law at the federal level. It’s highly unlikely that it will get anywhere under the current Republican-controlled Congress.
Under federal law, ICE can make warrantless arrests otherwise.
“Like all other law enforcement officers, ICE officers and agents can initiate consensual encounters and speak with people, briefly detain aliens when they have reasonable suspicion that the aliens are illegally present in the United States, and arrest people they believe are illegal aliens,” their website reads.
In a statement to WSHU, an ICE spokesperson said they do not target the so-called "sensitive locations" — but that they will conduct operations there when necessary.
"While we understand the sensitivity of these locations, if an active public safety threat endangered these locations, offenders may be arrested as a result of that targeted enforcement action," the spokesperson said. "The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement and instead trusts them to use common sense.
"The Supremacy Clause makes it clear that sanctuary politicians do not control federal law enforcement," they continued.
Connecticut passed the legislation earlier this year. It’s part of the same bill that allows residents to sue federal law enforcement if they believe their constitutional rights were violated.
Connecticut has also banned ICE agents from wearing masks while making arrests. The federal government immediately challenged the law, and it is still before a judge.
State officials have admitted that it’s difficult to police federal agents. At press conferences about ICE, CT’s Democratic officials are often confronted by angry community members asking why more isn't being done to, for instance, stop agents from wearing masks.
“We're having a challenge enforcing that,” Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves (D) said in August. “It's got to be prosecuted, I believe it's through the state's attorney, and unless they're going to enforce that, it doesn't give us the ability to do what everybody here wants us to do, and that is go up to somebody and fine them for not wearing a mask. That is just unenforceable from our perspective right now.”
This story has been updated with a comment from ICE.
