WINDHAM — A video posted this week to social media showing four federal agents detaining an immigrant on Walnut Street in Willimantic, is one of the few recorded and verified pieces of evidence of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention in Connecticut as rumors and misinformation are shared widely on social media and in WhatsApp groups of Latino residents.
Windham’s local authorities confirmed that there was a raid in town last Friday and another on Monday, but they could not specify how many people had been detained – between two and six, although most likely four, Town Manager Robert Zarnetske told CT Examiner. He said local authorities had not received any information from the federal government about the activities of ICE, but that reports from the public had not been reliable.
Asked by CT Examiner about the details of its activities in Connecticut, ICE replied it did not comment on ongoing procedures or operations “as a matter of policy and to ensure the safety of our officers.”
According to multiple local police agencies, it is standard procedure for ICE to notify them before carrying out an operation in a town or city.
New London received a notification on Monday and this Friday. New London Police Chief Brian Wright said they had not received any further information.
Stamford police were also notified on Monday.
East Hartford Mayor Connor Martin said on Sunday that he saw ICE agents enter a house. The town’s police, however, told CT Examiner they had not participated in the operation and had no information to confirm how many people were detained, if any. He confirmed that there had been no new operations since then.
Local authorities in other municipalities with significant migrant populations including Bridgeport, New Haven, Waterbury, Norwalk, New Britain and Danbury told CT Examiner they were not aware of any ICE operations last week.
Confusion and fear spread among the Latino community in Connecticut following an executive order signed by President Donald Trump to speed up deportations. Although the executive order expressly mentions the deportation of criminal cartels and foreign gangs, it also includes broader language targeting “the illegal entry and unlawful presence of aliens” in the country.
On social media and WhatsApp, clearly false information circulated about ICE detentions in different towns across the state. There were also doubts about how safe it was to go to work, take the kids to school or go to the supermarket. A group of migrants even shared photos and real-time updates when they drove from one town to another to report that the route was free of ICE.
So far there is no evidence that ICE has been randomly stopping people on the streets and asking for documents in Connecticut.
The Attorney General’s office told CT Examiner that it could not provide “legal advice,” and declined to clarify the scope of Trump’s executive order or which migrants in Connecticut would be affected.
But Zarnetske voiced concern that the lack of clear identification on the uniforms of the federal officers could make the job of local police harder if they are mistaken for ICE employees.
Photos of local police officers wrongly identified as ICE abound on social media and WhatsApp. And the same may be true for other federal agents.
On Friday, a video circulated on social media of four agents, two masked, detaining a man in Danbury. The video was posted as an example of immigration enforcement. But according to local law enforcement, that raid was likely instead a Drug Enforcement Agency operation. Local police had not received any notification of ICE about operations in Danbury.
Even what local authorities believe is true, might not be completely reliable.
In the case of the recent ICE action in Windham, the town manager believed the detention of an immigrant was related to Covenant Soup Kitchen, which provides free food to people in need next to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Such facilities were free from immigration enforcement under the Biden administration.
But Kimberly Clark, executive director of Covenant Soup Kitchen, said they did not know the detained person. Clark said the man was stopped while he drove his car past their building. None of the people eating at Covenant Soup Kitchen asked on Thursday knew the detained man.
A few blocks from the kitchen, Jaime — a South American migrant who asked not to be identified by his last name — ran a shop selling Latin American goods. Jaime said that after Monday’s arrest, almost no customers came to the shop. On Thursday afternoon, the store was empty.
Jaime had heard many rumors about Willimantic migrant detentions. He said deportations were barely an issue last week and had become the major topic of conversation among customers and acquaintances.
On the shop counter was a stack of “know your rights” brochures produced by the American Civil Liberties Union given to Jaime by a local fireman. The material offers the same advice as what the town manager had posted Monday on Facebook.
On a table behind him, Jaime had a yellow cardboard folder with his immigration documents, showing his legal status, inside.
The ACLU brochures offered advice to migrants who face encounters with ICE. The tips include not opening the door to an officer without a warrant signed by a judge and remaining silent in case of arrest until provided with a lawyer.
Bethany Perryman, communication director of ACLU Connecticut, told CT Examiner that the campaign aims to educate migrants about their rights but does not encourage obstruction of investigations.
“They need to make sure they have conversations with their families about what to do if they encounter ICE, so they are ready,” Perryman said. “ICE has been operating for years in Connecticut and all states in this country. People should not assume they have stopped operations.”
At an ACLU town hall on Wednesday, Perryman also advised the public to record any ICE operation they see to help identify the types of vehicles and uniforms used.
“They use a lot of deceptive and manipulative tactics to sort of give themselves control over the situation, but what we’ve seen so far are wearing jackets that say police,” Perryman said. “That will change and morph as we have more or less ICE presence in Connecticut. I think we will see more, obviously.”
School districts across the state have, meanwhile, issued guidelines and protocols in case ICE agents enter school buildings. After returning to office, Trump lifted the ban on detentions in schools.
Currently, a state law – The Connecticut Trust Act – limits cooperation between state agencies, local police, and ICE. A number of state Republican lawmakers are sponsoring bills to amend or repeal those restrictions.
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Editor’s note: A previous version of story located the soup kitchen on Valley Street in Windham. That has been corrected. It is located nearby on Walnut Street.