ICE Targets Sanctuary State Connecticut
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Last week, Connecticut saw a massive series of operations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Nearly 100 individuals were arrested statewide, with the majority of enforcement concentrated in Danbury.
Following reports that ICE agents arrested family members immediately after they put their children on a school bus, top state officials convened for a press conference on Wednesday, August 26.
Leading the media response was Connecticut U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D), who addressed attendees in Danbury:
“ICE is not here to protect Danbury,” Murphy told the crowd. “ICE is here to put Danbury into a state of terror.”
Other top Connecticut Democratic officials quickly joined the pushback:
Governor Ned Lamont (D): “It has to stop... Stay away.”
U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal: “ICE’s cruelty and craven brutality has no limit... Snatching people off the streets as they walk their children to school or wait for a ride to work is abusive, abhorrent, and illegal.”
U.S. Representative Jim Himes (D): “ICE’s detention of parents as they drop their children off at school is plainly and flatly despicable. It has nothing to do with public safety—it’s cruelty for cruelty’s sake.”
ICE issued a firm denial regarding Sen Murphy's allegations of the locations of the arrests:
"Any claim that ICE targeted parents at a school bus stop is FALSE," the department said in an unsigned statement Thursday. "Unsurprisingly, Senator Murphy’s narrative is a work of fiction aimed at scoring cheap political points at the expense of our officers."
Between the Lines: Under the Biden administration—supported by state Democrats—border enforcement was left virtually wide open, allowing millions of undocumented individuals to enter the country and settle in sanctuary states like Connecticut. The current administration was given a clear mandate to secure the border and restore federal law enforcement—a necessary undertaking that is inherently complex and messy.