'Stop the Raids' Campaign

Press Statement
Leonel Villavicencio

Immigrant Rights Supporters
Hispanic Center of Danbury, 87 West Street, Danbury
Thursday, February 22, 2007

The Stop the Raids Campaign denounces the illegal and unjust ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) arrests of at least 12 more immigrants last week in Danbury, raising the total to at least 35 arrests since late September.

In line with the arrests, the Campaign hereby announces its upcoming public event STOP THE RAIDS! An East Coast Forum to Address the Federal Crackdown on Immigrants, which is set for Sunday at 4 p.m. in the Ives Concert Hall, 181 White St., on the campus of Western Connecticut State University.

Nationally recognized speakers from the labor movement and defenders of civil liberties will join the victims of the largest workplace raid in U.S. history on a panel that day.

The latest round of 12 arrests targeted immigrants on probation for driving under the influence of alcohol. ICE was waiting to arrest the men when they arrived to the probation office in Danbury. These arrests are nothing but a pretext to normalize the daily presence of ICE agents on the streets of Danbury.

The Stop the Raids Campaign calls for an end to ICE raids in Danbury and to Mayor Mark Boughton's support for breaking up families and terrorizing the immigrants of the city. We also call Mayor Boughton's attention to the threatening phone calls that have been placed to the home of a forum organizer in Danbury. Full responsibility lies with Mayor Boughton to ensure the personal safety of every participant in the forum on Sunday.

More news @ Hat City blog;
link in right-hand column.