Connecticut Public Radio |
BY Timothy A. Clary
When federal immigration authorities were searching for a man accused of driving drunk in Connecticut last year, they turned to local law enforcement for help.
Meriden police charged the man with illegal operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol and other driving violations after he rear-ended a minivan on Oct. 18, 2025.
Roughly a month later, the Meriden Police Department’s records division received an email from an enforcement and removal assistant working in Hartford.
“The Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is conducting a preliminary inquiry involving the following individual,” the ICE assistant wrote. The email asked for a range of information about the man, including a copy of his booking photograph.
It wasn’t the only request of its kind. Records reviewed by Connecticut Public show local police departments have received dozens of requests for information about people targeted for immigration enforcement, amid a push by the federal government to dramatically increase the scale of its removal operations.
Those who were targeted were charged with a range of offenses, from serious crimes — including negligent homicide — to shoplifting and other low-level violations. In a handful of cases, charges had already been dropped when ICE contacted the departments seeking information.
The records, which date from January 2025 onward, show that ICE was frequently in contact with local law enforcement, despite efforts by state officials to limit police from engaging with federal immigration authorities.
In the view of some immigrant advocates, the communications also undermine efforts to build trust between law enforcement and the community, and underscore the limitations of Connecticut’s Trust Act, which restricts police from coordinating with ICE.
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