U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal hosted a town hall in Danbury on Thursday to hear accounts from local elected officials, attorneys and organizers about last week’s immigration enforcement operation — among the largest in the state’s history.
Nearly 100 people across Connecticut were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, including more than 60 in Danbury, according to CT Students for a Dream, which tracks arrests based on video footage submitted by rapid response teams.
On Thursday, community organizers described instances of excessive force used by ICE officers during stops. Attorneys said in some cases they’d been prevented from visiting with the detainees who were being held in Hartford.
“Cruelty is the point. Fear and terror are the goal,” Blumenthal said. “I don’t recognize America in what I saw in Danbury last week.
Blumenthal said the purpose of the town hall event was to “bear witness” and establish a record of what happened in an effort to hold immigration enforcement authorities accountable. House Resolution 1 — often referred to as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” — provided roughly $170 billion for immigration enforcement and border security, Blumenthal said.
A spokesperson for ICE did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
Glenn Formica, an attorney with The American Immigrant Legal Clinic, TAILC, recounted being refused access to detainees he believed were being held in Hartford. When Formica asked to meet with them, he was told on several occasions that they were being held in a different location, he said during an interview after the town hall.
“I could have gotten people released potentially from Connecticut, and now I’ve got to travel to Colorado,” said Formica, who is representing roughly 14 Connecticut residents currently being detained there, including four people who he said have “serious medical conditions.”
Formica said Connecticut residents detained last week are now mostly at detention facilities in Massachusetts, Colorado and Rhode Island.
Celina Beatriz Curillo, also an attorney with TAILC, described seeing detainees in Hartford “being brought out in chains — in a chain gang.” Curillo also cautioned people seeking legal representation to be on the lookout for scammers posing as immigration attorneys.
“Please, if you’re hiring a lawyer, always make sure they are a lawyer,” she said in Spanish.
Organizers described seeing and following ICE agents around the city last week.
Scott Kemp, a member of the rapid response team with Danbury Unites for Immigrants, described a scene where someone was detained by ICE in front of a Danbury daycare center. When Kemp arrived at the scene, he saw the detainee’s car had a broken window. An agent immediately told him to back up, and motioned toward his handcuffs and pepper spray, Kemp said.
Prior to the town hall, Blumenthal met with families of people who had been detained, who he said preferred not to speak publicly for fear of repercussions for their loved ones. He called their accounts “heartbreaking” and “powerfully emotional,” but declined to provide further details.
