Federal officers took two men into custody Monday inside the Stamford court, according to two people who witnessed the event, enacting an immigration enforcement arrest within a state judicial building.
The incident unfolded around 11:15 a.m. Mike Tejpal said he was outside when he saw a Dodge Charger, Nissan Maxima and Ford Explorer pull up to the entrance. Men dressed in military-style vests got out and moved swiftly through the glass doors at the front of the building, he said. Most were wearing masks and dark baseball caps, he said.
“It was like a storming of the courthouse,” said Tejpal, who is part of a local group that documents immigration arrests in the vicinity of the building.
Criminal defense lawyer Francisco Cardona said he was inside the court clerk’s office when he heard a commotion. Cardona said he turned and saw five or six officers running toward a bathroom.
"I thought it was just somebody trying to fight in the courthouse, but as soon as we stepped outside it was clear to everyone that it was ICE agents,” he said.
Cardona said the officers pushed against the bathroom door, which was obstructed from the other side. Connecticut judicial marshals, who provide security for the building, then cleared lawyers and members of the public from the area, he said.
Cardona said he saw federal officers leave a few minutes later, taking two men in custody with them. He said one of the opaque panels on the bathroom door was broken, and he could smell an odor that resembled pepper spray.
"It was quite the scene,” Cardona said. “It's just like you see in the movies.”
Watching from outside, Tejpal said one of the detained men was crying and spitting as he emerged in handcuffs. Video he captured shows officers walking the men out of the building and loading them into vehicles.
Tejpal said about five to seven minutes transpired between when the officers arrived and left.
Representatives of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not respond to an email seeking comment about the arrests.
Rhonda Hebert, a spokesperson for the Connecticut Judicial Branch, responded to questions about the incident with a written statement. In it, she referred to restrictions put in place by the Trust Act, a state law that limits cooperation between state and local law enforcement and ICE.
“The Judicial Branch adheres to the Trust Act,” Hebert said. “Under the act, we are not to prevent or assist ICE in the apprehension of individuals in the courthouse.”
Members of local advocacy groups say they have observed federal immigration officers operating around the Stamford court since at least early July.
Arrest data shows migrants in the state with pending criminal charges have increasingly been a focus for local ICE officers.
However, in Stamford, arrests were previously thought to have occurred only outside the court building, said David Michel, a former Connecticut state representative who regularly documents immigration arrests in the area.
Michel, who is part of a coalition called Stamford Norwalk United with Immigrants, said lawmakers and the governor should strengthen protections for migrants in Connecticut.
“It feels like we’re in a state of lawlessness,” Michel said. “When I document this, I feel like I’m in another country.”
