Norwalk and state officials are criticizing Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) agents for recent apprehensions across 黑料吃瓜网, including Norwalk, after a widely shared video showed a man being tased by ICE agents in mid-August.
Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, a democrat , representing Norwalk, spoke about the incident from the state Capitol in Hartford 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 Democratic State Rep. Corey Paris, of Stamford, who received death threats after warning residents online of ICE activity in his district.
While Duff is the latest state official to criticize ICE apprehensions, local officials including Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling, 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 Friday after ICE agents twice attempted to enter a police station鈥檚 parking lot on August 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 shortly after where it stated local police were asked to leave the parking lot, agents 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.
Mayor Rilling, who is a former Norwalk Police Chief, said the presence of ICE agents, who often wear masks, are in plainclothes and drive unmarked cars, 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 made 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.
But ICE views its operation as a success ICE launched a four-day operation titled Broken Trust. The statement criticized 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 , the state law limits local and state cooperation with federal deportation efforts, claiming it harms local communities, despite protests from local officials in Norwalk and throughout the state.
鈥淪anctuary legislation like 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 Trust Act only endangers the communities it claims to protect. Such laws only force law enforcement professionals to release criminal alien offenders back into the very communities they have already victimized,鈥� ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde said.
But the state law does not prevent local and state officials from working with ICE to detain people convicted of violent crimes. Out of the at least 65 people ICE claims it arrested, 29 were either charged or convicted previously.
Only 13 of the 29 were publicly identified.
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.
ICE did not answer requests for comment from 黑料吃瓜网 over concerns by Norwalk officials apprehensions could damage relations between Norwalk residents and police.
Rilling said Norwalk police were not notified by ICE of any upcoming operation.
Undocumented immigrants from Latin America, a have similar levels of trust and respect for local police as the general population.
That number 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.
Before becoming mayor of Norwalk, Rilling served as the city鈥檚 police chief in the 1990s, when he heard state law enforcement started anti-drug enforcement operations in the city.
They wore masks, said Rilling, a former criminal justice professor for Norwalk Community College, criticized on transparency grounds.
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.
ICE said it also apprehended people who had foreign arrest warrants and Interpol notices, but did not make their identities public. It criticized 黑料吃瓜网 jurisdictions for not honoring immigration detainer requests, blaming them for needing to make arrests within those communities.
ICE released a statement titled 鈥満诹铣怨贤� is a Sanctuary State no more鈥�.
Gov. Ned Lamont previously criticized federal efforts at characterizing 黑料吃瓜网 as a sanctuary state saying it has no legal definition.
