In Conn., feds urged to stop raids

In Conn., feds urged to stop raids

	Published : Tue, 12 Jun 2007 16:52 By : Agencies Print this Story

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - City officials urged federal authorities to halt additional raids targeting illegal immigrants, saying an operation last week violated the law.

New Haven Mayor John DeStefano said Monday he is filing a complaint with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and seeking an investigation into a raid Wednesday that led to about 30 arrests, including many in immigrants' homes.

DeStefano said Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents failed to notify local authorities about the operation and lacked search warrants.

'They pushed into homes without warrants,' he said. 'This was just very aggressive intervention.'

The city plans to forward witness statements to federal officials describing how parents were arrested in front of their children, DeStefano said. Agents refused to identify themselves and told people in the houses to shut up, according to the statements.

Authorities took those arrested to facilities around New England, officials said. Bond hearings are planned later this week in Hartford.

DeStefano said the operation raised concerns about racial profiling because most of those arrested were Hispanic.

Bruce Chadbourne, field office director for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said officers had permission to enter the homes and acted professionally. He said the agency notified New Haven police weeks before the operation about executing warrants and denied engaging in racial profiling.

However, Chadbourne said he would temporarily suspend the specific operation the city complained about because of the publicity.

Connecticut Sens. Christopher Dodd and Joseph Lieberman and Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro also asked Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff for clarification about the way in which the raid was conducted and its timing.

'Several aspects of the enforcement operation have raised concerns for us, the mayor of New Haven, and many residents in Connecticut,' the lawmakers wrote in a letter.

The operation came two days after the city approved a program to make municipal identification cards available to immigrants. City officials said the raid appeared to be retaliatory, but ICE officials have said the raids had nothing to do with the city's approval of the ID program.

Michael Wishnie, a Yale law professor who is representing most of those arrested, said there were deportation orders for four of 32 people arrested.