Thread: CT-Danbury ICE talks lead to fewer immigrants

Danbury ICE talks lead to fewer immigrants
By Everton Bailey Jr.

August 15, 2009

DANBURY, Conn.—Scores of immigrants are fleeing this western Connecticut city, residents say, as the economy falters and the police department begins a partnership with federal immigration officials that puts more pressure on illegal immigrants.


The partnership, announced by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency this week, will train Danbury police officers to identify criminals who have broken immigration laws. Danbury is one of dozens of communities across the country participating in the program, but it's particularly controversial in this city of 75,000, which has as many as 10,000 illegal immigrants.

Three years ago, undercover Danbury police officers promised jobs to nine day laborers in a sting operation, then turned them over to federal agents for deportation. The controversial sting led to a civil rights lawsuit, with the plaintiffs alleging that police had no probable cause to target them. Plaintiffs also alleged they were denied access to phones to call families and attorneys while being sent to detention centers as far away as Texas.

Hundreds of residents protested at City Hall earlier this year when Danbury's City Council voted 19-2 to apply for the federal program. Danbury officials have promised that the training won't be used as an excuse to round up illegal immigrants.

"I think there is a general understanding that if you are not breaking the law, then you shouldn't have an issue," Mayor Mark Boughton said. "Of course, there are going to be some misconceptions, but I can assure you cops will not be stopping people on the streets at random demanding proper identification."

Immigrants aren't so sure. Barbara Levitt, 58, owner of the Upscale Downtown consignment shop, said immigrant-owned stores began disappearing after the City Council applied to the immigration program.

"You could drive down this street, and you could see, all of a sudden, there were all these 'for rent' signs," she said. "People just left town."

Sandra Machado, 48, co-owner of Graphica, a Danbury design and printing shop, has seen a 50 percent decrease in sales because people are leaving Danbury. The Brazilian-born Machado, who resides in Bethel, said she estimates 85 percent of her customers are immigrants.

Cristiana Lopes, a travel agent for BACC Travel in Danbury, said in the last 10 months she has sold around 500 tickets to immigrants wanting to leave the city and return to their homelands, most of them to stay indefinitely.

Lopes, 27, said many find the process to become a naturalized citizen too demanding and costly. She also said that many illegal immigrants just want to make a better living for themselves and their families and do not have criminal intent.

"They know that it is not right, but what else can they do?" said Lopes, who is originally from Brazil.

Jose Contreras, 41, owner of Sabrosura, an El Salvadorian restaurant in Danbury, said the majority of city immigrants feel the effects of the bad deeds of a few.

"Some people are afraid," said Contreras, an El Salvador native who has been in the U.S. for 21 years. "But for the people that come here to do other things, they make it harder for the rest of us."

Boughton said he doesn't see a correlation between the program and an immigrant exodus.

"We haven't noticed that much," he said. "If people are leaving, it's mostly due to the economy."

He said Danbury has for a long time been an attractive place for immigrants to settle because of housing availability and the city's close proximity to other equally diverse populations in Fairfield County.

"We've had a long tradition of immigrants settling here, and we are proud of that history," he said.


http://www.boston.com/news/local/connec ... atest+news

Cristiana Lopes, a travel agent for BACC Travel in Danbury, said in the last 10 months she has sold around 500 tickets to immigrants wanting to leave the city and return to their homelands, most of them to stay indefinitely.

GOOD! Enforcement works, let's increase it!

I come unglued every time I see the word IMMIGRANT without the word ILLEGAL preceding it.



These articles are supposedly written by English majors. Does Everton Bailey Jr. actually think that Danbury CT does not welcome real (legal) immigrants?

"We've had a long tradition of immigrants settling here, and we are proud of that history," he said.

Duplicate post:
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-167217.html