These 8 CT Police Departments Helped ICE, ACLU Claims

CONNECTICUT — The American Civil Liberties Union is alleging that eight Connecticut law enforcement agencies are providing resident information to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement through an automated license plate detector database that tracks people’s daily movements.

The information was obtained by the ACLU of Northern California. Fairfield, Westport, Enfield, Wethersfield, Stratford, Trumbull, Norwalk and Southern Connecticut State University police departments are named.

“All eight of these Connecticut police departments must immediately stop sharing their residents' information with this rogue and immoral agency, and Connecticut’s legislature must step up to pass a statewide law to take control over police surveillance, create privacy protections if the state adopts electronic tolls, and pass a bill to strengthen the TRUST Act,” said ACLU Connecticut Executive Director David McGuire.

Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling and Norwalk Police Chief Thomas Kulhawik denied that the department reports anyone’s immigration status to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“On its face, it appears data from a cloud-based law enforcement database used by NPD was used by ICE to obtain information on specific individuals,” they said in a joint statement. “This is not the intent of the database, as it is meant to assist law enforcement with criminal investigations.”

Rilling and Kulhawik said it's the policy of the police department to refrain from cooperating or assisting with federal immigration actions.

“The City and Norwalk Police Department are investigating these allegations and will take appropriate actions to remedy the situation,” the two said.

Trumbull Police Chief Michael Lombardo said that the LPR system is only used for enforcement of criminal and motor vehicle law violations. The police department agrees to share information with other law enforcement agencies for official purposes only. The system doesn't record the name, address or immigration status of any individual or driver.

"In the time that it has been in use, the LPR system has been instrumental in the investigation of many crimes, including a recent assault and robbery that occurred in a local park, and a bank robbery that resulted in the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators. Trumbull Police Chief Michael Lombardo said, “The LPR has been a valuable tool, not only for identifying the everyday violations that are a danger to motorists on the streets of Trumbull, but for those very serious crimes where we need every means possible to assist in keeping our neighborhoods safe.”

Records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by ACLU show more than 9,000 ICE agents have access to the license plate reader database run by Vigilant Solutions. The automated license plate readers.

Wethersfield Police Chief James Cetran said he didn’t know the license plate contractor had shared information with ICE, according to the Connecticut Post. He planned to investigate further and said the department isn’t looking to track immigrants.

Connecticut’s Trust Act prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies from honoring ICE detainer requests under certain scenarios. It doesn’t apply to convicted felons, those with outstanding arrest warrants, those not out on bond after being arrested, known gang members and certain other conditions.

A proposed bill this legislative session would place further limits on how local law enforcement can cooperate with ICE including preventing local law enforcement from serving ICE detainers without a valid federal judicial warrant. McGuire testified in favor of the bill and said it would help local law enforcement gain trust in immigrant communities and prevent local dollars from being spent on federal law enforcement.