Immigrant rights advocates in Meriden say they won't be intimidated by federal immigration agents and held a rally in front of a courthouse on Thursday.
The rally comes after ICE agents last week entered the courthouse and arrested a man.
Various organizers and city residents held signs, chanting anti-ICE and pro-immigrant slogans. Meanwhile, civil rights groups are exploring whether ICE agents violated state law when they entered the building and walked through a security area.
Milagros Biroscak, a Meriden resident, said she wanted to show her support for immigrants. Biroscak is Puerto Rican and therefore a U.S. citizen. She spoke of her connection to immigrants in the city, referring to them as brothers in Spanish.
“They are our family, and we’re here to support them because we are not OK with what ICE is doing in these times," Biroscak said.
Rhett Tock is a member of Hartford Rapid Response which, along with the Middlesex Immigrant Rights Alliance (MIRA), was among the organizers for Thursday's rally. Tock said while he did not see ICE agents at this rally, he wants the state to enforce a recently passed law that would allow the state prosecute federal law enforcement officials for violating civil rights.
"We want the new SB 397 enforced, because really the problem we're running into is that if these policies are enforced, ICE is just more willing to continue to go in extrajudiciously and take more people," Tock said.
Some of the people attending the rally said people are scared. City Council member Yvette Cortez mentioned a speaker who was afraid to talk, worried she would embarrass herself by crying in front of other protestors.
Cortez said she held her hand and said organizers and residents would use that fear as momentum.
"A few of us just talked about how we're all scared and we're all a little nervous to come," Cortez said. "But we're going to use that to fuel our action; we're not going to use that to allow them to use that to silence our voice."
Cortez said residents have sought her out for answers on what they can do, and she wished she could do more.
But she said there are other ways to advocate for her community, including continuing to accompany immigrants to court appearances.
"We can be there for our neighbors and support them and stand beside them through this horrible time," Cortez said.
