MERIDEN, CT — Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents took a man into custody inside Meriden Superior Court on Wednesday in an incident that led to a confrontation with activists outside the courthouse.
Former Meriden City Councilman Miguel Castro, an advocate with the Middlesex Immigrant Rights Alliance, shared several videos of the incident on Facebook.
"The incident began after an individual with a DMV violation was allegedly targeted through racial profiling, leading to ICE agents making an arrest at the courthouse," Castro wrote in the post. "Tensions escalated rapidly when state judicial marshals cooperated with federal agents, pushing advocates out of the courthouse entrance, during which an advocate was knocked down and rushed to the hospital."
The video shows activists questioning the legality of ICE agents entering the courthouse in a possible violation of Connecticut's Trust Act, which limits immigration enforcement at courthouses and bans the use of masks by agents. Some ICE agents were seen wearing face coverings in the videos.
An activist told the CT Mirror that she was pepper-sprayed by an agent who was leaving the courthouse.
Another activist was seen in the videos falling down after she was pushed back by a courthouse security staffer.
A witness told the CT Mirror that the woman briefly lost consciousness after the fall and was taken to a nearby hospital by ambulance.
The Connecticut Judicial Branch told WFSB 3 that judicial marshals received a warrant of removal/deportation before the man's arrest, which indicated that he was subject to removal under a final order from an immigration judge.
The branch released the following statement from Stephen Ment, Executive Director of External Affairs, to WFSB regarding the incident:
"The Judicial Branch can confirm that ICE arrested an individual in the Meriden courthouse today. Prior to the arrest, Judicial Marshal Services received a 'Warrant of Removal/Deportation' indicating that the individual was 'subject to removal/deportation from the United States based upon a final order by an immigration judge.' We are reviewing the warrant presented to validate this information and are examining video of today's incident to ensure that Connecticut state law was followed."
Read more at the CT Mirror here and WFSB 3 here.
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