HV Detention Watch #8

Compiled  25 August to 1 September, 2026, by Susan Manuel

Arrests climb nearby

CONNECTICUT. ICE arrested more than 90 immigrants in Danbury, Bridgeport, and Stamford, CT last week, targeting locations where day laborers meet in the early mornings seeking work, including parks, supermarkets, Home Depot, and near an elementary school. People were beaten and tasered with one man hospitalized. ‘They’re ….trying to shoot fish in a barrel. They’re rounding them up without showing any kind of warrants,” said Seth Garben with Danbury Unites for Immigrants. Danbury is one of the state’s most diverse towns with 35% of the population born outside the U.S. including large communities from Brazil and Ecuador. It has been a “hotspot for immigration enforcement for about a year,” reported Connecticut Public Radio.

The raids began on the first day of school, adding fear to the communities. The schools’ superintendent declared the schools safe spaces and instructed bus drivers who encounter law enforcement activity to keep students on the bus and return them to school. Those arrested included a Danbury resident of 30 years with work authorization, a tax ID, and application for permanent residency. State and local officials expressed outrage. “When we hear folks say ‘oh we want people to do it the right way,’ the folks doing it the right way are also getting deported,” said Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves.

Eyewitnesses said agents grabbed adults who had just dropped children at a school bus, a claim ICE called “FALSE.” Gov. Ned Lamont, Sen. Chris Murphy, and Rep. Jahana Hayes joined Alves and other officials in Danbury to assure immigrant community members of their support. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong called the actions “indiscriminate terror sweeps” and said he may file a civil lawsuit against the federal government.

Lamont said that at a governors’ meeting early this year, “President Trump told us he would not be sending ICE into cities that did not ask for the help. Let me be clear: Connecticut does not want, nor do we need, the type of presence ICE has had in our state this week. Connecticut has some of the lowest crime rates in the country, thanks to the excellent work of our state and local police to keep violent criminals off our streets. Rounding up people at random to fill a quota does not lower crime. It traumatizes families and communities.” In response to a request from Connecticut Insider, DHS sent a list of five “public safety threats” it said ICE had arrested in the state, i.e., men with previous criminal convictions. However DHS had sent the same list to the publication twice before, in February and in July.

NY & NJ. The New York Times reported on 27 August, “ICE Arrests Soar as People with no Criminal Record are Increasingly Targeted.” Among those arrested this summer have been people married to U.S. citizens, asylum applicants who entered the U.S. legally, and others with temporary protected status. The share of those arrested with a past violent criminal conviction was less than four percent. ICE is nearing its goal of 2,000 arrests per day, with the biggest surge taking place in Florida and Texas. The new records are due to an increase in agents—to 29,000 in June. And ICE is relying more upon state and local law enforcement partners. The 287(g) program is operating in 39 states currently, particularly in states where ICE presence is limited.

NPR reported that ICE recorded 49,571 arrests in July. Deportations are now averaging over 1,000 per day. ICE arrests in New York and New Jersey spiked in July: New Jersey saw a 148 % increase from May to July. New York arrests increased by 80 % with 1,355 taken in July. Mark Kirkorian of the Center for Immigration Studies said that the government “changed the tactics and are, if anything, being more effective.”

The Times wrote last week that “the new ICE activity, more discreet and dexterous than the highly visible raids in large cities last year, has surprised towns, suburbs and cities across the U.S. …. Plainclothes agents in masks have resurfaced in towns and neighborhoods with large Hispanic populations, arresting immigrants at bus stops, construction sites and gas stations…. The overall surge in arrests has appeared to operate largely out of public view, insulated by more targeted operations and limited media attention.” In addition, ICE is “poised to expand detention significantly in the next year,” The Times wrote, noting new detention facilities slated to open in the fall and the possibility of reviving its plan to convert warehouses into detention centers.

• Syracuse.com reports that more than 500 people have been arrested in Onondaga County—mainly in Syracuse and most from Ecuador; 82 percent with no criminal history. “The encounters happen so quickly and so quietly that it is rare for journalists or advocates to arrive in time to witness an arrest. Most happen in the morning….”
• City Reporter said many people apprehended at NYC ICE offices were released the same day on “orders of recognizance” requiring them to check in with ICE regularly.
• The Hill cited DHS’ response to a previous NYT story on harsh conditions in detention centers: “Another day and another hoax about ICE detention from the @nytimes. The media is clearly desperate for these false allegations to be true.”