Danbury Immigrant Advocate Confronted by Disguised ICE Agent: Report

DANBURY, CT — An immigrant rights advocate from Danbury said he was confronted by a federal immigration agent posing as a construction worker over the weekend while monitoring enforcement activity in neighboring New York.

Juan Fonseca Tapia, cofounder of Greater Danbury Unites for Immigrants and coordinator of its Rapid Response Network, said the encounter happened Saturday morning in Brewster, a village just over the Connecticut border. Fonseca Tapia posted a video of the encounter on his group's Instagram page.

Fonseca Tapia told News8 he received a tip around 7:30 a.m. that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were in the area. When he arrived downtown, he said he saw six ICE agents standing together and began recording video from a distance. The agents then dispersed.

The IG video, posted Sunday, was taken after the activist pulled into a Brewster church parking lot, and shows a man dressed as a construction worker approaching the activist's car.

When asked which agency he worked for, the man replied, “I’m not going to tell you,” as shown on the video.

According to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, ICE contacted local authorities, including the Brewster Police Department, reporting that agents were being followed and requesting assistance. Deputies identified Fonseca Tapia and conducted what was described as a “suspicious person investigation.” His identification was returned, and he later left the area.

For more, see the full story on News8.