http://news.newstimeslive.com/story.php ... gory=Local

Jun 09 2006 1:37 AM
Illegal immigrants arrested in Danbury raid
By John Pirro THE NEWS-TIMES

DANBURY – Five illegal immigrants – some of whom returned to the United States illegally after previous deportations – were arrested Thursday in early morning raids at two city apartments.

Two of the men were picked up when federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, assisted by Danbury police, entered an Abbott Avenue apartment at about 6:15 a.m. The other three were found in an apartment on Highland Avenue 35 minutes later.

Re-entering the country illegally after being deported is a felony, and anyone who does so faces the possibility of federal prosecution and subsequent removal, said ICE spokeswoman Paula Grenier.

"Obviously, this illustrates why we need to secure our borders," said Mayor Mark Boughton.

The arrests are part of a continuing investigation and federal authorities have identified several other individuals who sneaked back into the country after being deported and are believed to be living in the area, the mayor said.

Detective Capt. Mitchell Weston said the men were specifically targeted because of their previous immigration records.

"They weren’t picked up indiscriminately," he said.

The men taken into custody Thursday were identified as Jose Chalpe, 41, Juan Quito, 47, and Rene Astudillo-Parra, 27, all of Highland Avenue, and Leonardo Margarito Manzano, 45, and Martin Manzano, 32, both of Abbott Avenue.

Information about their countries of origin and the dates and reasons why they were first deported weren’t immediately available, Grenier said.

With city and law enforcement officials estimating Danbury’s undocumented immigrant population at between 15,000 and 20,000, ICE agents have been busy in the area.

In April, federal authorities and local police teamed up to capture a 24-year-old Brazilian man who was wanted for murder in his native country and was living in the U.S. illegally.

In March, ICE agents, along with state and New Fairfield police arrested three people and busted a brothel catering to illegal immigrants on Barnum Road that investigators said could be tied to a human trafficking operation, which smuggled women into the country and forced them to work as prostitutes.