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Bea Ferrer-Guarin said that she had no trepidation about attending an anti-ICE rally in Hartford on June 3, 2026, despite knowing people who had been pepper sprayed near a January protest when a confrontation occurred with federal agents behind the courthouse. Credit: Laura Tillman / CT Mirror

Dressed in white, protesters sang, chanted and performed street theater in a demonstration against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in front of the Abraham Ribicoff U.S. Court House in Hartford on Wednesday.

The peaceful rally was an attempt to bring renewed attention to ongoing ICE activity in Connecticut, and it was the first large anti-ICE action at that building since January, when some protesters were pepper sprayed and one person was knocked down by a vehicle during a confrontation with federal agents at the back of the building.

Stefan Keller of the group Hands Off CT said members have noted an uptick in activity in recent weeks in cities like Bridgeport, Hartford and New Haven.

“They have more resources to be doing these things, but it’s too early to know the number of people who have been detained through that process,” Keller said.

Hands Off CT has observed seven or eight new vehicles at the federal building they believe belong to ICE officers. The group gathers to make video recordings of agents when they appear to be conducting operations. But Keller said that when members of the group talk to people in the community, residents are often unaware that ICE is still active in Connecticut.

“It feels important to keep this story alive and make sure people in Connecticut know that it’s happening here,” Keller said.

While some immigration enforcement activity has made the news — like the detention and subsequent release of a 19-year-old in Cheshire who is a senior in high school — advocates say that ICE is arresting people in Connecticut on a regular basis, and that even those attempting to track that activity find it challenging to get a comprehensive picture of who is being detained.

A Connecticut Mirror request to an ICE representative for data on 2026 arrests in Connecticut was unreturned.

Anti-ICE post cards were distributed to protesters on June 3, 2026, in Hartford where organizers asked attendees to write to Connecticut senators Blumenthal and Murphy. Credit: Laura Tillman / CT Mirror

The rally also comes a month after lawmakers passed a bill that was signed into law by Gov. Ned Lamont that limits ICE actions in Connecticut.

The bill establishes “protected areas” — including schools, hospitals, social service agency facilities and houses of worship — where people may not be arrested solely on the basis of a civil offense, such as an immigration violation. It prohibits law enforcement officers from wearing masks while on duty. It bans former federal law enforcement officers who were found guilty of misconduct or retired during an investigation from being hired by Connecticut state or local police. And it requires police officers to complete 480 hours of training before they can be hired by state agencies. 

The bill also includes a section that allows state residents to sue federal law enforcement agents for violations of their constitutional rights, a proposal created in response to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis in January.

The Trump Administration has sued Connecticut over the new law, alleging that it puts agents in danger.

In late May, ICE officers appeared to be violating the new law’s prohibition on masks and identification requirement during filmed activity in Hartford on two occasions. Violating this law is considered a Class D misdemeanor in the state. Advocates have also noted an uptick in ICE activity in Bridgeport and New Haven.

The rally’s organizers said they were focused on keeping the rally safe and they discouraged people from posting information about it in advance it on social media. Keller said that it was important to organizers to avoid a confrontation with agents similar to the one that occurred on Jan. 8 in which protesters were pepper sprayed by federal agents.

“We believe we are more powerful if we can send a clear message that’s not muddied,” Keller said.

Constanza Segovia of Connecticut For All and Hartford Deportation Defense performs street theater at an anti-ICE protest on June 3, 2026, in Hartford. Credit: Laura Tillman / CT Mirror

John Alan Holder said he came to the protest on Wednesday at the request of former students who had formerly protested the Bush Administration’s war in Iraq.

“It’s good to see after a hiatus of political activity that people are finally getting together — but not enough people are here though,” he said.

Bea Ferrer-Guarin of Hartford said that she knew people at the January protest had been pepper sprayed but said she had “zero trepidation” about coming out on Wednesday. “Even if that were a risk for me, I would come out. Because there are lives on the line, this is the future of our country and our community. So, if I need to get pepper sprayed, I’ll get pepper sprayed.”

CT Mirror reporter Emilia Otte contributed to this report.

Laura Tillman is CT Mirror’s Human Services Reporter. She shares responsibility for covering housing, child protection, mental health and addiction, developmental disabilities, and other vulnerable populations. Laura began her career in journalism at the Brownsville Herald in 2007, covering the U.S.–Mexico border, and worked as a statehouse reporter for the Associated Press in Mississippi. She was most recently a producer of the national security podcast “In the Room with Peter Bergen” and is the author of two nonfiction books: The Long Shadow of Small Ghosts (2016) and The Migrant Chef: The Life and Times of Lalo Garcia (2023), which was just awarded the 2024 James Beard Award for literary writing. Her freelance work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and The Los Angeles Times. Laura holds a degree in International Studies from Vassar College and an MFA in nonfiction writing from Goucher College.