Danbury and CT Unite Against ICE Terror

This week in Danbury, as families prepared for the special back to school days, the Department of Homeland Security decided to terrorize the community with massive ICE raids. Parents were taken in front of their children, at school buses and child care centers. The entire community was horrified, calling for an end to the terror, an investigation, transparency and help to those being hurt including traumatized children.

Immediately Danbury United for Immigrants coalesced, reached out to allies and city, state and federal elected officials, held a press conference and organized a Day Without Immigrants on September 2. The call was put out to not go to work or school, not shop, and attend a state-wide march and rally at the Danbury Public Library with a goal of organizing over 1,000 supporters. Local businesses declared a “DAY WITHOUT AN IMMIGRANT” and closed their doors to show the power of immigrant communities and those who support them in Connecticut.

The purpose was to offer a powerful, peaceful, collective protest and clearly communicate shared values and refusal to be silent and accept this as “normal”.

Husky 4 Immigrants was among the groups that joined in, saying “Danbury’s immigrant community is essential to the city and to our entire state. When immigrants are targeted and racially profiled, the whole community is harmed. Agents have beat up and tased people, broken windows, and arrested parents in front of their own children. We need to make clear that WE ARE NOT OK with the authoritarian takeover of any Connecticut city. CT stands with Danbury. ICE OUT OF CT! Danbury is a city where all of our neighbors are welcome, whose strength comes from our diversity. We’re coming together to keep Danbury a welcoming city for all! “

At least 65 families in Danbury have been torn apart by ICE’s abduction. On Monday 16 neighbors were abducted, on Tuesday 10 neighbors were abducted, on Wednesday 22 neighbors were abducted, and on Thursday 14 neighbors were abducted — while up to a dozen ICE vehicles patrolled the city each day.

Neighbors were abducted in front of a day care, in a grocery store parking lot, driving to work, in front of their houses, and when dropping off their kids at a school bus stop. On the first day of school as kids and parents were heading out to the bus stop or walking to school, they saw ICE vehicles lying in wait, they saw cars left on the side of the road with lights still blinking as their drivers were violently ripped from their communities.

There were a total of 100 arrests in Connecticut with some in Bridgeport, Hartford, Redding and Stamford.

“Over the last year, there have been mostly targeted arrests,” Tabitha Sookdeo, executive director of Connecticut Students for a Dream, told the Connecticut Mirror on Tuesday. “Yesterday was out of trend with anything observed.”

“If you can sort of imagine how one would design a system intended to terrorize a community — not intended to keep the community safe — you would design what they’re doing in Danbury right now," U.S. Senator Chris Murphy told the media.

Danbury school teachers are members of the Connecticut Education Association. President Kate Diaz responded angrily, “The start of the school year, a time of excitement and possibility for Connecticut students as they return to their teachers, friends, and familiar routines, is instead turning into the worst nightmare in many of our communities.

“Educators have spent their summer preparing to welcome students into classrooms where they can learn and grow. But in these first few days of school, that joyful return is being overshadowed by fear. A surge in ICE detentions, including those involving legal residents, is taking place at school dropoffs, bus stops, and other places where children are left to witness a parent or loved one being taken away. 

“Already the consequences are reaching far beyond the individuals detained. Entire communities are living under a cloud of terror, with families keeping their children home for fear of what may happen on the way to school or back. Children are losing access not only to education but also, critically, to friendships, trusted adults, meals, healthcare, and other supports they receive at their neighborhood schools. Communities are scrambling to provide safe passage to and from school, as well as meals and other essentials. 

“This is not what back-to-school should look like in Connecticut—or anywhere. Our schools should be places of safety, stability, and belonging. Teachers are opening their classroom doors ready to build relationships and help their students thrive. But children cannot be expected to learn when they are anxious that a parent may disappear while they are in class—or when their families are too afraid to send them to school at all.

“With the 2025 expansion of the Trust Act, Connecticut stands as a leader in the fight for human rights, immigrant justice, and schools as safe spaces. Across the country, educators are leading the fight as well. Earlier this year, the National Education Association filed an emergency motion to stop ICE from indiscriminately operating in and around schools. We must continue to reject the cruelty of policies and practices that inflict such trauma on our youngest, our most vulnerable, and the communities they call home.”

Among those who stepped up was SEIU local1973 Congress of Community Colleges, which circulated a message; “Why as a union do we advocate for the undocumented community?”

“When ICE comes to a community, the impact follows students into our classrooms,” they said telling. the story of Edel Hernandez Cervantes, a Danbury resident and CT State Community College student studying to become a physical therapist.

“Edel was getting ready for school when his father called. His uncle had been detained during an ICE operation and, after an encounter in which an agent used a Taser, was taken to the hospital. Instead of being able to focus on classes and his future, Edel spent the day trying to find his uncle, get information from the hospital and locate medical records that might help his family. By 11 p.m., he had barely eaten.

“Edel was born in the United States. His story is an important reminder that immigration enforcement does not affect only the person who is detained. It reaches their children, nieces and nephews, spouses, coworkers—and our students.”

The union explained that “Community college students already balance classes with jobs, caregiving, transportation, finances and countless other responsibilities. Now some are also wondering whether a parent will be there when they get home, whether a family member is safe, whether they should go to work, or what will happen to their family tomorrow.

“Faculty and staff cannot separate students from the lives they bring through our doors. Our students deserve to be able to come to campus focused on learning, building careers and creating better futures, not carrying the fear that their families could be torn apart while they are sitting in class. This is happening in the communities we serve. And that makes it a community college issue, too.”