The Impact of ICE Activity in Norwalk, Stamford
As President Trump’s administration increases immigration enforcement across the country, ICE agents made arrests in two of Connecticut’s largest cities this week, sparking protests and angry responses from local officials and activists.
“The tactics utilized by ICE officers do not reflect our values in the City of Norwalk and are counterintuitive to our mission of protecting our residents and treating them with the utmost care and respect,” a joint statement from Mayor Harry Rilling, members of the Norwalk Common Council, and Police Chief Jim Walsh read. “Our goal is to ensure all residents are treated with dignity and respect, regardless of anyone’s immigration status or background.”
About 3% of Connecticut's population is made up of undocumented immigrants, according to a policy report from CT DataHaven.
But what are the impacts of ICE’s activity in southwest Connecticut? How are they impacting both undocumented residents and the community at large?
Increased Enforcement
President Donald Trump came into office and promised to deport millions of people across the U.S. who were undocumented. He and his administration initially said they were focusing on undocumented immigrants who had committed crimes, but in recent weeks, ICE has expanded its efforts, visiting places undocumented immigrants might be, such as Home Depots (for those who work in construction) or courthouses where they might be having their cases heard.
Safety Concerns
It’s these choices of location that particularly upset many local officials in southwest Connecticut, including Norwalk Common Council member Josh Goldstein.
“In order to have a safe and welcoming community, everyone needs to know that important places in our community are open to them,” Goldstein said in an Instagram post. “If you’re sick, we want you to go to the hospital. If you are the victim of a crime, we want you to go to the police. It is really important that people feel that they can go to these places without getting deported.”
A courthouse and police station were two of the locations selected by ICE agents in Stamford and Norwalk.
On August 11, ICE officials arrested two immigrant workers at Stamford Courthouse, according to CTPublic. The two men were the victims of an armed robbery, according to CTPublic and were at the courthouse for a follow-up appointment.
In Norwalk, ICE officials parked at the Norwalk Police Department on August 14 and 15 and made a few arrests, including chasing a man, tasing him, and handcuffing him in front of AMC Theaters. Norwalk police said the agents were not invited and Police Chief Jim Walsh said they were asked to leave.
Impacts on Families
The ICE arrests taking place both locally and across the country are causing harm, particularly to families, with parents being separated from their children or partners being separated from their spouses.
At a protest on Friday in Norwalk, Leonela Chávez, the daughter of the man who was tased, told NancyonNorwalk that her family had worked to give her opportunities, like graduating from college.
“My dad and my uncles are hardworking individuals in this country,” Chávez said, according to NancyonNorwalk. “They raised me, a UConn graduate. I’m getting my master’s in clinical psychology at Sacred Heart University. I want to be better for my dad, for my family, and yet he was still ripped away from me … What happened today is not okay.”
Norwalk Common Council member Jalin Sead wrote in a statement that these actions were “devastating.”
“As a Councilman, and as a human being, I am personally devastated by what the Trump administration is doing to people, our neighbors who are being detained and torn from their families,” he wrote. “This is not who we are, and I will continue to stand against such actions in our community.”
Economic Effects
In May, the nonprofit CT DataHaven published a policy report outlining the impact that immigrants—both those with legal status and those who are undocumented—have on the state’s economy.
“In particular, deporting undocumented immigrants, who comprise 3% of Connecticut’s total population (about 117,000 people), would potentially wipe out tens of thousands of jobs, given that 87% of these immigrants are working age,” the policy report found.
Health care and child care industries would bear the brunt of the loss of labor, the report found.
“Health and child care fields would be severely disrupted, as immigrants comprise 22% of all early childhood education workers in Connecticut and 38% of all health aides in the state,” the policy report found.