The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has more than doubled its arrests and tripled its deportations in Connecticut compared to the first half of 2024.
ICE made 405 arrests in Connecticut from January 2025-July 2025, more than doubling the 173 arrests made during the same months of 2024, according to ICE data obtained by the Deportation Data Project through an FOIA request and analyzed by The Connecticut Mirror.
There was also an increase of 145 deportations compared to January-July 2024, or 237.7%.
Most deportations were to Ecuador, followed by Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras and the Dominican Republic since Jan. 20.
Danbury in particular has been the site of notable ICE activity, as well as strong pushback from advocates. In mid-June, Greater Danbury Unites for Immigrants held a press conference in which they said that between 12 and 15 people were arrested near the Danbury Superior Courthouse.
On Aug. 20, ICE’s Boston Office announced the completion of what they called “Operation Broken Trust,” which led to the arrest of 65 immigrants in Connecticut, at least six of whom were arrested in Danbury.
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Videos posted on social media show confrontations between advocacy groups and ICE agents in the parking lot of Danbury Superior Court as the officials arrest a man and a woman. The videos show a group of officers dressed in tactical gear, some of whom wore masks.
“ This past week we saw, we experienced, we felt, and we witnessed terror of state sponsored violence, intimidation, kidnapping for disappearances,” Juan Fonseca Tapia, an organizer with Greater Danbury United for Immigrants, said at a press conference on Aug. 20. He characterized the ICE apprehensions as “state-sanctioned kidnappings.”
Fonseca Tapia said that one of the people picked up by ICE at the Danbury Courthouse in mid-August was an 18-year-old who had been arrested for a noise complaint. As of the 20th, Fonseca Tapia said, he did not know where the teen had been taken.
Data shows that 19 people were arrested in Danbury in June and July.
Sen. Ryan Fazio, a Greenwich Republican and candidate for governor, commended the ICE action.
“Connecticut’s sanctuary policies have made our state a magnet for illegal immigration, including for convicted criminals,” he said in a Monday release. “I appreciate the work of federal immigration enforcement in removing some of these criminals.”
Cpt. Mark Williams of the Danbury Police Department said the current immigration enforcement activity was unlike anything he’d experienced before. He also said it was frustrating how little communication was happening between federal immigration enforcement and local police departments as a result of Connecticut’s Trust Act.
[RELATED: CT Trust act: What to know about law regulating ICE interactions]
Arrests also took place in Stamford and Norwalk. Last week, immigration advocates held a rally outside the Stamford Courthouse in protest of the arrest of two men who were reportedly there for a follow-up appointment after being the victims of an armed robbery. In Norwalk, a video posted to social media showed two brothers, identified as Ricardo and Leonard Chavez, tased and arrested by ICE agents in the middle of the street.
Police in Danbury, Norwalk and Stamford all told CT Mirror that they were not aware of “Operation Broken Trust” and that they did not know the number of people who were arrested or detained by ICE.
Other arrests in Connecticut have gained significant attention. In early June, a mother of two was detained in New Haven; according to police chief Karl Jacobson, she had a pending court case on a misdemeanor charge. Her 13-year-old daughter, Monse, and her 8-year-old son witnessed the arrest.
The New Haven community also rallied for the release of Esdrás, an 18-year-old student at Wilbur Cross High School who was detained in July at his workplace at a car wash. Esdrás, whose surname has not been made public, was reportedly sent to a detention facility in Louisiana but later transferred to a facility in New England after a local attorney intervened.
At the Danbury press conference, a senior at Wilbur Cross High School and leader with CT Students for a Dream who identified herself only as Melanie said she was deeply troubled by Esdrás’ arrest.
“ The thought that they might return and take away more of my friends, my brothers and sisters fills me with fear and anxiety. This fear is overwhelming. It distracts me from my studies, from my future, and that should never be the case,” she said.
In New Britain, community members protested outside City Hall after four people were detained by ICE during a raid at a car wash in early August. In early June, a senior at Maloney High School in Meriden and his father were detained by ICE and sent to a detention facility in Texas. And in July, Zia S, an Afghan citizen who worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Armed Forces and came to the country through humanitarian parole, was arrested and sent to a detention center in Plymouth, Mass.
On Wednesday, a crowd protested outside the Church of Christ, Congregational in Newington after ICE reportedly arrested seven workers at the Optimo Car Wash on Saturday. According to Constanza Segovia of Hartford Deportation Defense, two of the workers were mothers with young children. One of the women detained at the car wash had just undergone surgery; Segovia said her organization is currently fighting to get her access to the health care she needs.
“ Our many immigrant communities across the state have been terrorized daily, on the streets, in courthouses, at work, and at home. Parents are worried about sending their kids to school this week or going to the hospital for care. This is all happening while we confront potential cuts to life-saving resources, including state funded health care and food assistance,” Segovia said at the press conference on Wednesday.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., ranking member on the Senate’s permanent subcommittee on investigation, recently announced that he has begun an investigation into the “abusive and potentially illegal tactics” being used by ICE. He said the main driver of the investigation was threats made against Connecticut State Senator Corey Paris on social media, one of which was later reposted by ICE’s official account.
“These reports of abusive tactics, excessive use of force, detention of U.S. citizens and possible harm to individuals who are taken into custody and thrown into unmarked vans by masked agents, and then confined in inhumane conditions, are deeply troubling,” Blumenthal said.
Since ICE has no detention centers in Connecticut, people arrested by ICE in Connecticut are swiftly moved through detention centers across the nation, most commonly Plymouth Correctional Facility in Massachusetts and Alexandria Staging Facility in Louisiana, the nation’s busiest deportation hub.
Since January 20, 2025, 348 people apprehended in Connecticut have been transferred to out-of-state detention centers, and there have been at least 1,262 transfers. One person can have more than one transfer.
For example, a 47-year-old Nicaraguan man arrested in Hartford was moved through Plymouth Correctional Center and Pine Prairie ICE Processing Center in Louisiana before being sent to ICE’s Guantanamo Bay facility in March. He was deported to Nicaragua a week later. The ICE dataset shows he had no criminal charges beyond immigration offenses.
He is one of 290 immigrants nationwide sent to Guantanamo this year. ICE records show no ICE detainees were sent there from September 2023 to January 2025.
A quarter of those arrested this year in Connecticut do not have any criminal charges beyond an immigration offense. Half were “pending criminal charges,” according to the ICE dataset, meaning they have a charge moving through the justice system but have not been convicted. A quarter have existing criminal convictions.
ICE arrests of people with a conviction, or without any other charges, have increased somewhat, but arrests of people with pending charges have increased tenfold.
Over half of those arrested in Connecticut come from just five Latin American countries, but ICE has also arrested immigrants from 44 other countries, including Russia, China and the United Kingdom.
About 16% of Connecticut’s population is foreign born, according to 2023 data from the Migration Policy Institute. Among immigrants to Connecticut, the most common countries of origin are Jamaica, India and Brazil.
Immigrants arrested most commonly come from Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Brazil, and Honduras.
Compared to last year, ICE arrests of immigrants from Venezuela, Guatemala, Honduras and China have increased fourfold.
From January-July of 2024, two Venezuelans were arrested by ICE in Connecticut. This year the number has risen to 10. The Department of Homeland Security revoked Venezuela’s Protected Status in March.
Since Inauguration Day, there has been a shift in nationalities arrested by ICE. While most people arrested still come from Latin America, the distribution of countries has changed compared to the same period in 2024.
Nicaragua (-36%) and Colombia (-11%) saw declines, but Ecuador surged by 284% and now accounts for the largest share, 23.7% of the 2025 total. Guatemala grew even faster in relative terms (+440%), becoming the second-largest nationality to be arrested at 13.3%.
Together, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Brazil, Honduras, Peru, and the Dominican Republic make up about 71% of all arrests in 2025. South American countries in particular, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, and Colombia, stand out in the trend.
CT Mirror reporter Renata Daou contributed to this story.