Danbury Mayor Responds To ICE Arrests As Federal Agents Descend On City

DANBURY, CT — Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves addressed a significant federal immigration enforcement presence in the city Monday, saying residents were frightened by the activity and urging community members to know their rights.

“There has been and continues to be a significant ICE presence in Danbury today,” Alves wrote in a statement. “People are scared. Families are calling each other, changing plans, wondering whether it is safe to go to work, pick up their kids, or simply leave the house.”

Local activists and witnesses observed two arrests at Kennedy Park Monday morning. Immigration activity was also reported elsewhere in the city.

Alves emphasized that Danbury does not direct federal immigration enforcement and that local police do not conduct immigration enforcement operations.

“We will follow Connecticut law, protect public safety, and protect the trust that allows people to call the police, send their children to school, go to work, and live their lives,” Alves wrote.

The mayor also urged residents to know their rights when interacting with immigration officers, including asking to see a judicial warrant before allowing officers into their homes and asking to speak with an attorney before signing documents they do not understand.

Alves, who immigrated to the United States from Brazil as a child, said the issue was personal to him.

“I know the fear that comes with uncertainty about your status and your future. I lived with that uncertainty,” Alves wrote. “So when I tell people to know their rights, this is personal to me.”

Gov. Ned Lamont also criticized Monday’s enforcement activity, saying the arrests did not appear to be focused on violent criminals, according to CT Insider⁠.

“Our communities are not made safer by rounding up people at random to fill a quota,” Lamont said in a statement obtained by CT Insider.

Alves said people who commit serious crimes should be held accountable regardless of immigration status, while also calling for due process and broader changes to the country’s immigration system.

“We need a secure border and we need to enforce our laws and hold people who commit serious crimes accountable,” Alves wrote. “We also need due process, workable legal pathways and an immigration system that recognizes the reality of millions of people who are already here, working, raising families and building lives in our communities.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to Patch’s request for information about Monday’s enforcement activity.