Officials at the Hartford office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement locked the front doors to the Abraham Ribicoff Federal Building on Main Street Tuesday, as activists staged what they called a civil disobedience action. The protesters are attempting to stop the deportation of a Derby man, originally from Guatemala, who's lived in the U.S. for 24 years. Eventually, Hartford Police arrested 19 of the protestors.
According to supporters, Luis Barrios first came to the attention of ICE in 2011, when he was stopped by Connecticut State Police for having a broken tail light. At that time, ICE considered his case a low priority, and granted him a stay of removal, which he has to renew every five years.
Those supporters said Barrios checked in once again with ICE in February of this year, and he was told his stay would no longer be granted.
He's being forced to leave the country for Guatemala on a flight from JFK airport on Thursday, May 4.
On Tuesday, activists gathered outside ICE offices in Hartford to stage a press conference calling for Barrios to be allowed to remain in the United States.
As the protesters linked arms to block access to the building, the doors were later locked from the inside, blocking public access. Also, a security guard opened the door and told protesters that they shouldn't be there, and that "police are on the way."
Hartford police were on scene but did not intervene. An officer told WNPR that the building is federally owned, and any dispersal order would have to come from federal law enforcement.
In a statement, ICE spokesman Shawn Neudauer said his agency had no involvement in the building access issue:
ICE occupies space there but does not manage or otherwise have anything to do with that building. It’s owned/managed by the General Services Administration (GSA) and security there is run by the Federal Protective Services (as it is with virtually all ICE offices). In short, ICE had nothing to do with locking doors or any other such activity. You would need to contact FPS or GSA for comment.
Barrios's case has drawn attention from Connecticut's congressional delegation.
Third District Representative Rosa DeLauro last week wrote to ICE New England Regional Director Todd Thurlow, requesting prosecutorial discretion in the case. She asked him for "fair-minded consideration of the entirety of Mr. Barrios’s contributions to society and obligations to support and care for his family," and said she was "deeply concerned about this situation."
Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal has also called for the case to be reconsidered.
Correction: An earlier version of this post attributed the locking of the doors to ICE. The department says it was not responsible for the action.
