Human Impact Project

ICE agents arrested Welington Leonel Almara-Diaz at Meriden Superior Court in Connecticut after Judicial Marshal Services received a Warrant of Removal/Deportation stemming from a final removal order issued in October 2023, following his apprehension by Border Patrol near Hidalgo, Texas, in September 2022. Witnesses said about ten agents, some masked, entered the courthouse around 1 p.m., and video showed marshals blocking advocates as a woman fell to the ground during the confrontation. Advocates, including Middlesex Immigrant Rights Alliance member Miguel Castro, gathered outside after learning ICE was near the courthouse, and at least one person was injured during the chaotic scene. ICE said marshals impeded the arrest and protesters blocked officers' exit, prompting agents to use their training to 'gain control of the situation.' Connecticut officials and the ACLU are investigating whether the arrest violated state law restricting civil immigration arrests on courthouse grounds without a judicial warrant and rules on mask use by officers.

Deng Dhieu Kuach Deng, a 19-year-old freshman basketball player at Southern Connecticut State University from Aweil, South Sudan, was detained by ICE agents on September 4, 2026 while attempting to board a domestic flight at Tweed New Haven Airport to visit his girlfriend in North Carolina. A witness described the arresting officers as 'very aggressive.' Deng had a pending asylum application with a valid Employment Authorization Document and no criminal history; attorneys Glenn Formica and Steven Strom filed a habeas corpus petition alleging an officer falsely claimed he had violated Temporary Protected Status he never held, and that his Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights were violated. He was held at the Wyatt Detention Facility in Rhode Island, which Formica described as involving 'hyper stress' conditions including sleeping on cement floors with foil blankets and broken toilets. Following advocacy from attorneys, university community members, and New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, Deng was released on September 16. Sen. Richard Blumenthal called the detention unnecessary and illegal and sought an investigation into the regional ICE field office; SCSU said it remained in contact with him and was assisting where appropriate.

Nancy Burton, a Meriden resident and member of a rapid response team monitoring ICE activity in Connecticut, was pepper-sprayed by an ICE agent exiting the Meriden courthouse during a confrontation between activists and agents. She said she was stepping away after the officer demanded she move when he deployed the spray, and was treated by an emergency medical technician at the scene. Fellow rapid response team member Madeline Gallagher was pushed to the ground by a courthouse security staffer as activists crowded around the ICE officers, briefly losing consciousness before being taken by ambulance to a hospital. The incident occurred as ICE agents detained at least one man at the courthouse, raising questions about compliance with Connecticut's Trust Act, which limits immigration enforcement at courthouses, bans masked law enforcement, and will extend protections to additional "protected areas" like hospitals, schools and places of worship starting Oct. 1.

Ainara Andreina Calderon Pena, a woman from Ecuador who legally entered the U.S. through New York City in August 2022, was arrested by ICE agents at Tweed New Haven Airport on September 11, 2026. A DHS spokesperson said she is being held for overstaying her visa and will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings. State court records show no pending criminal cases or convictions associated with her, and her attorney, Janne Reisch, filed a sealed petition for a writ of habeas corpus on her behalf in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts contesting the legality of her arrest and detention. A status conference in her case was scheduled before U.S. Judge Patti B. Sarris on September 14, 2026.

A man was hospitalized after being Tased by an ICE agent during his arrest in Danbury during a targeted enforcement operation. City officials said ICE called 911 around 6:45 a.m. reporting the man had been Tased and needed medical attention, and a city ambulance transported him to Danbury Hospital, where he was discharged later that morning. A DHS spokesperson said the man physically resisted arrest and reached for a pocketknife, and that he was carrying a counterfeit lawful permanent resident card and fake Social Security card. Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves called the incident 'deeply concerning' and said the community deserves transparency about what occurred and why that level of force was used.

ICE agents pulled 28-year-old Johnny Queda from his truck in Danbury, Connecticut, on August 27, 2026, as he drove home from a construction job. His fiancée, Kimberly Rivas, said Queda, who is from Ecuador and has lived in the U.S. for five years while pursuing citizenship, pays taxes, has legal representation and had no criminal history. "It's just so sad ... he does everything right," Rivas said. The arrest, captured on video by a local shop owner, occurred amid a broader week of intensified ICE enforcement in the city.

Johnny Ojeda was detained by ICE agents on West Street in Danbury last week, according to video of the incident. His fiancée said he has never committed a crime and was in the process of applying to become a U.S. citizen. She said he was transferred to a detention center in Rhode Island and is scheduled to make his first appearance in federal court.

A Danbury, Connecticut construction worker, identified by family as Edel Hernandez Cervantes, was tackled, kicked, and repeatedly tased by ICE agents on August 27, 2026, after he and coworkers noticed an ICE vehicle following them on their way to a job site and turned back home. Neighbors' video and a 911 call showed as many as five agents surrounding the vehicle, pinning him face-down, and shocking him with a Taser while he complained of hypertension and was reported to be convulsing. Family described him as an expert baker who once owned a bakery in Mexico known for bread made for Día de los Muertos and Three Kings Day, and who always kept the radio on and loved to sing. He was taken by ambulance to Danbury Hospital, where staff and ICE denied his family and an attorney access to him, telling them there was no record of him as a patient. Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves said he had already been transferred to ICE custody in Hartford before officials could intervene, and his whereabouts and condition remained unclear for days afterward.

Johnny Queda, a 28-year-old construction worker from Ecuador, was pulled from his truck and taken into custody by ICE agents while driving home from a job site in Danbury, Connecticut. His fiancée, Kimberly Rivas, said Queda has lived in the U.S. for five years while working toward citizenship, pays taxes annually, and has retained an attorney. She said he had no criminal record, adding, "It's just so sad because he had nothing criminal going on. He pays his taxes every year. He has a lawyer. He does everything right." The arrest was part of a broader ICE operation in the Danbury area that detained more than 50 people in a week.

ICE conducted a multi-day enforcement operation in Danbury, Connecticut, with the mayor estimating about 50 people detained by Wednesday, not including further arrests on Thursday. Surveillance video from a security camera near Kennedy Park, at a business owned by Maria Rivera, captured agents throwing, kicking, and kneeling on a man's head as he was arrested outside a local Botanica store. The area had previously drawn up to 200 day laborers each morning, but immigrants and residents now avoid it, and nearby business owners reported fear and declining customer traffic. Agents were also seen waiting near school bus stops and outside a daycare center. A local blogger documenting the activity said agents grabbed day laborers off the street without warrants. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said ICE had not explained why it was operating in Danbury and that he was exploring legal options to hold the administration accountable, while DHS confirmed the enforcement activity but declined to provide further details, citing operational security.

Jhonny Ojeda, a 26-year-old construction worker from Ecuador who has lived in the U.S. for five years, was pulled over on West Street and taken from his truck by ICE agents while driving home from a job site. His fiancée, Kim Rivas, said Ojeda had no criminal record, paid taxes every year, and had legal representation. His arrest came amid a fourth consecutive day of ICE activity in Danbury, with the mayor estimating about 50 people had been detained citywide.

DHS said ICE arrested 28-year-old Ecuadoran national Leonel Geovanny Morocho-Arteaga during a targeted operation in Danbury, Connecticut, on August 26, 2026, disputing advocates' claims that the arrest took place near a school bus stop. The agency said Morocho-Arteaga had entered the U.S. without authorization and was previously arrested and released by Customs and Border Protection in July 2021, and that agents found a kitchen knife in his vehicle during the stop. DHS said the child associated with him remains under the guardianship of her mother, and that Morocho-Arteaga remains in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.

Leonel Geovanny Morocho-Arteaga, a 28-year-old Ecuadorian citizen and father of two, was arrested by ICE in Danbury, Connecticut, during a four-day operation that led to 118 arrests. In a sworn affidavit filed in federal court, he said agents surrounded his car after he placed his 6-year-old son on a school bus, and that his asylum appeal was pending at the time. DHS has denied the arrest took place at a bus stop, though video from cameras on the school bus appears to show agents detaining an adult at a nearby intersection shortly after children boarded. DHS has previously said agents found a large kitchen knife in his vehicle and that one of his children is under the guardianship of her mother; Morocho-Arteaga remains in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.

Two volunteers working as legal observers for Danbury Unites for Immigrants were pepper sprayed by ICE agents during an encounter on Wednesday, with one of them hospitalized afterward, according to co-founder Juan Fonseca Tapia. Tapia said an ICE vehicle struck him as agents were leaving the parking lot. The hospitalized legal observer was treated and has since returned to volunteer work, the group said.

A video posted online showed five ICE agents in Danbury attempting to wrestle a man's arms behind his back while he lay on the street in front of a preschool center. A masked agent pointed a canister of what appeared to be pepper spray at the man's face, warning, "You're going to get sprayed," while another agent ordered him to put his arms out. The incident occurred during a week in which ICE agents made a sharp uptick in arrests across Danbury, with local advocacy group Danbury Unites for Immigrants confirming dozens of arrests in the city.

Fidel, a Guatemalan immigrant working toward U.S. citizenship, was taken into ICE custody Monday morning while driving to work in Stamford, Connecticut. His wife, Olga Guerra, a U.S. citizen, found his car abandoned in the street after friends alerted her that he was seen talking with agents. He was later able to call her from a detention facility in Colorado, expressing worry for their three children. Guerra described him as "a nice husband, a great dad" and "a very hardworking person" who always cares about his family, and has secured legal representation for him.

ICE's Boston field office conducted a four-day targeted enforcement operation the week of August 24 in southern Connecticut, arresting 118 people. Officials said many of those arrested had previously been released from local jails after officials declined to honor ICE detainers. Those detained include individuals from Honduras, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, and Guatemala, with charges or convictions ranging from sexual assault against a child, child abuse, weapons offenses, drug dealing, and assault. ICE named one individual, Harvin Rivera-Guardado, in connection with the operation. An ICE field office director criticized Connecticut's sanctuary policies, including the TRUST Act, saying they obstruct enforcement efforts.

ICE agents arrested one person in Bridgeport on Monday as part of a broader wave of enforcement activity across Connecticut that also included arrests in Danbury and Stamford. Advocates said little is known about the circumstances of the Bridgeport arrest. Community groups activated an emergency protocol to verify reports and connect affected families with legal support.

ICE agents detained four people working for tree removal companies in Stamford, part of enforcement operations that continued across the city Monday through Wednesday and extended to Danbury and Bridgeport, with a total of at least 21 people detained, according to CT Students for a Dream. Agents were reported operating near locations including Home Depot, Richmond Hill Avenue, Lockwood Avenue, Wilson Street, Harbor Point and the Stamford train station, and some detained individuals were later released after showing documentation. Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons said she was "horrified by the cruelty" of the actions, stating that the city's streets should not see people "randomly removed" with their rights violated, and reaffirmed Stamford as a welcoming city for immigrants. ICE said it does not discuss specific operations for security reasons.

At least 16 people were arrested by ICE agents in Danbury on Monday, according to community advocates, with about half detained at a day laborer site in Kennedy Park and others stopped outside residences or businesses. Advocates said agents returned to the park twice to make arrests, and that one detained man requires dialysis treatment while another is the father of a high school student. Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves said city officials were not notified in advance of the operation and said agents appeared to be 'pulling random people' who looked Latino. Gov. Ned Lamont said the arrests did not appear targeted at violent criminals, calling those detained 'laborers seeking work' and 'parents walking their children to school.'