ICE Agents Asked To Leave Norwalk PD Parking Lot, City Issues Statement

NORWALK, CT — Mayor Harry Rilling and other city officials responded Friday to recent actions involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents reported in Norwalk.

According to a written statement issued Friday by Rilling, Police Chief James Walsh and the city's Common Council, ICE agents entered the Norwalk Police Department parking lot, located on Monroe Street, on Thursday "without prior authority or consent from the police department or the city of Norwalk."

According to the statement, Norwalk police directed the ICE agents to leave the parking lot and noted the department "had no prior knowledge of or involvement in their operations."

ICE agents then returned to the parking lot Friday morning, "again without prior authority or consent from the police department or the city," and were again told to leave, city officials said.

The statement also noted "serious concerns have been expressed" by city officials and community members regarding tactics utilized by ICE officers, including the use of face masks, plain clothes and unmarked vehicles, which is "a stark contrast from the transparency and accountability traditionally practiced by the Norwalk Police Department," according to city officials.

"The tactics utilized by ICE officers do not reflect our values in the city of Norwalk and are counterintuitive to our mission of protecting our residents and treating them with the utmost care and respect," the statement reads. "Our goal is to ensure all residents are treated with dignity and respect, regardless of anyone's immigration status or background."

City officials also noted the Norwalk Police Department remains "a welcoming place where we encourage everyone to come to report a crime or seek protection. When crimes against immigrants go unreported, it can lead to negative consequences, including the perpetuation of criminal activity, a lack of justice for victims, and increased fear within immigrant communities."

During a community update held Friday afternoon at City Hall, Rilling emphasized ICE agents were not invited to Norwalk or to use any city facilities, including the police department parking lot.

Rilling also emphasized the Norwalk Police Department was not involved in any of the activities conducted by ICE over the past couple of days.

He also acknowledged a number of residents were upset and concerned in light of these actions by ICE.

"It's incumbent on us to communicate to the public that our job is to keep them safe," Rilling said. "They are part of the city of Norwalk. We're going to protect every single right that they have, and we're going to make sure that they are not treated inappropriately."

Walsh said the department was also made aware of an arrest made Friday morning by ICE agents at the intersection of North Main Street and Ann Street but noted he did not have further information due to there being "no transparency or communication" about it from federal authorities.

"The responsibilities of the federal law enforcement officers, they respond to their chain of command on how they conduct their arrests," Walsh said.

A request for comment from ICE was not immediately returned Friday afternoon.

Rilling said federal enforcement agents, including ICE, have widespread jurisdiction.

"They have widespread authority to pretty much do whatever they need to do to accomplish their mission," Rilling said. "If they have a warrant for someone, they are allowed to take that person into custody and they are allowed to use reasonable means to make that happen."

According to Rilling, law enforcement agents or organizations coming into Norwalk typically let city officials know they are in the city and what they will be doing there.

"Unfortunately that is not the case," Rilling said. "[ICE] has not let us know that they are coming into Norwalk. We have no knowledge of who they may be looking for, and that's their right to do that, but we would encourage them to let us know for the protection of the people they may be looking for or the protection of the agents. We want to make sure that everybody in Norwalk is treated safely and appropriately."

While ICE agents are not authorized to use any city facility, they are authorized to enter any place in the city that is open to the general public, according to Rilling.

Rilling said city officials were looking into what restrictions can be imposed on ICE agents who enter the city.

"Unfortunately those restrictions are very few, if any," Rilling said. "They are federal agents and they are authorized by the federal administration to pretty much go wherever they want."

Rilling also noted school buildings in Norwalk are always locked and a process is in place in case an agent comes to a school seeking to gain entrance.

"One thing that is clear, if a federal agent does go to a school and wants to gain entrance, they're going to call the Norwalk Police Department and have [Norwalk police] come and ask what the business is and verify their authority to be where they are," Rilling said. "Our schools are very safe and our children need to be protected, and I know that the Norwalk Public Schools has a protocol in place to do everything possible to make that happen."

Walsh said he and Rilling recently had "a long conversation with federal authorities" during which they voiced their displeasure over ICE agents' use of the police department's parking lot two days in a row.

"The use of the parking lot is not suitable for their enforcement actions," Walsh said. "We want to provide a welcoming atmosphere for anybody, regardless of immigration status, to come to the police headquarters. It's used 24 hours a day for victims of crime [and] police services, and what that does is it deters people from coming in...and we don't want that."

Rilling encouraged anyone with concerns to contact Norwalk police, his office or a local council person.

The city's statement also noted city officials, the Common Council and Norwalk police are working alongside Attorney General William Tong, the city's state delegation and community partners to plan upcoming public forums and share resources and information.

"We just want to assure everybody in the city of Norwalk that we are here to protect them," Rilling said. "We are not part of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, we have not invited them into the city of Norwalk, we have not invited them or authorized them to use any city facility."

A full video of the city's community update held Friday at City Hall can be viewed here.