E-mails from federal immigration raid released


Mary E. O’Leary,
Register Topics Editor moleary@nhregister.com.
11/01/2007

http://www.nhregister.com

HARTFORD — The e-mail from federal immigration officials described the operation as a "fun time" and they hoped their colleagues at the state police could come and "play."

"Sounds great!" was the response from Detective Carmine Verno at the state police.

The e-mails, which were partially redacted, were released this week to Yale lawyers representing two advocacy groups interested in the state police role in the June 6 raid in New Haven by federal immigration officials in which 29 people were arrested.

An employee of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement e-mailed Verno that they had an operation planned for May 2 in New Haven.

"I know you guys usually work nights, but if you’re interested we’d love to have you! We have 18 addresses — so it should be a fun time.!! Let me know if you guys can play!!" said the ICE official in the April 30 e-mail to Verno.

"Sounds great!" Verno wrote back, who said he would run it by his bosses. The raid was later moved up to June 6 and it was agreed that three to five personnel from the state police would participate.

Other material shows the final number was four state police officers, who participated as backups in the event any state laws were violated. None of the e-mails, however, referred to any suspected criminal activity by the targeted immigrants and troopers made no arrests.

The e-mails were made public Wednesday at a state Freedom of Information Commission hearing at which Commissioner Vincent Russo took testimony on whether state police should be ordered to make public all the records they have in their possession on the raid.

After reviewing the materials state police have not released, including a federal operational plan for June 6, as well as those that have been redacted, Russo will make a recommendation to the full FOI board next week.

The lawyers and representatives of the Junta for Progressive Action and Unidad Latina en Accion were taken aback by the tone and language of the correspondence between ICE and Verno.

"It sounds like a bunch of cowboys decided to get a posse together, and the feds wanted to give the state police the opportunity to take part in the roundup," said Justin Cox, a student intern at the Jerome N. Frank Services Organization at the Yale Law School.

The law clinic is representing the advocates, as well as 21 of the 29 people ICE arrested and charged with being in the U.S. illegally.

"It completely reduced them to a sort of non-human level. Really, this is one of the most insulting things I have ever read," said Laura Huizer, economic development officer at Junta.

Khalil Iskarous, a member of Unidad Latina en Accion, said not only were the 32 families who were visited by ICE affected, but thousands more in the city subsequently were afraid to go to work or pick up their children at school after the raid.

"Given the horror of what they went through, and then to read these e-mails, which are the language of sports, ... it’s really quite disturbing to members of the community," Iskarous said.

Assistant State’s Attorney Henri Alexandre, who represented the state police at the hearing, argued that the redacted material protected investigative techniques and the personnel involved. He also did not feel they could turn over a federal Department of Homeland Security operation plan without the permission of that agency.

The Yale lawyers have argued that exemptions covered by the federal Freedom of Information are irrelevant as the state definition of a record just requires that it be on file with the state.