Several Detained By ICE After Raid In Hamden

HAMDEN, CT — Several people were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials after a raid at a car wash in Hamden on Wednesday morning, according to Mayor Lauren Garrett.

Garrett said parents of school-aged children were among those detained by ICE.

Garrett issued a statement denouncing the raid.

“The conduct displayed by ICE in Hamden is outrageous and lacks basic humanity,” Garrett said. “We strongly denounce and condemn this horrific action of separating families which inflicts severe trauma on our children and neighbors.

“This terrible act of inhumanity is a gross violation of human dignity, and incongruent with the core values we cherish in Hamden.

“Hamden proudly welcomes everyone. Our immigrant community members are an integral and valued part of the Hamden fabric. Hamden will continue to stand with our residents and uphold our fundamental principles.”

Officials held a news conference in response to the raid on Wednesday afternoon at the M L Keefe Community Center at 11 Pine Street in Hamden.

Garrett was joined by Hamden Town Clerk Karimah Mickens, Hamden Chief of Police Edward Page Reynolds, members of the State Delegation, Hamden Legislative Council, Hamden Board of Education, clergy, and community members.

At the news conference, Garrett said ICE conducted the raid around 10:20 a.m. at a car wash on Dixwell Avenue.

Eight people who were working at the car wash were detained by ICE, according to Garrett.

Garrett said one of her biggest concerns was that a mother and a father were taken by ICE.

“Their children are in school, we don’t know which community, we don’t know how to contact that school,” Garrett said. “We are still trying to find out how to get in touch with this family so that their kids don’t go to an empty house when they get home from school.”

(Watch the full news conference at the end of this story.)

State Sen. Jorge Cabrera (D-Hamden) issued the following statement:

"Since we passed the TRUST Act a decade ago, Connecticut has always carved out exceptions for dangerous felons. Democrats don't have a problem with that. Neither does the governor. What we do have a problem with is Donald Trump and ICE telling us that they are arresting the scum of the Earth - murders and gang members and pedophiles. And then who do they arrest? Landscapers. Dishwashers. High school kids. People working at car washes. So called 'overstays' who show up in court for immigration hearings. Here’s a simple solution: Go back to last year’s bipartisan immigration reform bill that Congress was ready to pass until Donald Trump told Republicans, ‘Don’t pass that – I need a bogeyman to run against in the November election.’ And so Republicans killed the bipartisan immigration reform they had been working on with Democrats under Joe Biden. If Trump and ICE are truly concerned about immigration, go back and pass that bill. Give people a path to citizenship. That’s what most Americans support. But don’t arrest hardworking, taxpaying immigrants."

In June, a federal immigration raid occurred at D-Hand Car Wash, 655 Queen St. in Southington, that resulted in four workers being taken away. Later that week, ICE authorities said they arrested four employees from Guatemala who were in the United States without authorization.

See related:

• ICE Arrests 7 At Local Business, Top Official Says He’s ‘Deeply Concerned’
• 65 Arrested By ICE During Sting Operation, Federal Officials Say
• ICE Arrested Teen In Workplace Raid, Sent Him South
• ICE Agents Asked To Leave Police Parking Lot
• Councilman To ICE: 'Get The Hell Out Of Southington'

In August, ICE arrested seven people at a Newington car wash, according to Mayor Jon Trister.

Trister said at the time that seven people were arrested by ICE while working at the Optimo Car Wash on Main Street in Newington.

"We are deeply concerned by this incident," Trister wrote in a statement in August. "In the United States, everyone — regardless of their immigration status or where they were born — has the right to due process and to fundamental protections that cannot and must not be denied."

Also in August, ICE said it apprehended 65 undocumented immigrant offenders throughout Connecticut during a four-day enforcement effort. The August effort, called “Operation Broken Trust,” targeted transnational organized crime, gangs, and egregious offenders, according to ICE.

Patricia H. Hyde, acting field office director for ICE’s Boston office, characterized those targeted by the sting in August as dangerous criminals.

“Make no mistake: Every person that we arrested are criminals and breaking federal law, but many of these individuals also victimized innocent people and traumatized communities — rapists, drug traffickers, child sex predators and members of violent transnational criminal gangs,” Hyde said. “They all made the mistake of attempting to subvert justice by hiding out in Connecticut.”

Of those arrested during the August operation, ICE said 29 have been convicted or charged in the U.S. with serious crimes, such as kidnapping, assault, drug offenses, weapons violations, and sex crimes. Others were identified as members of transnational gangs or had criminal histories in their native countries, according to ICE.