Connecticut Congressional Delegation to DHS Secretary Kelly: Don’t Let ICE Agents Portray Themselves as Local Police

HARTFORD, CT (April 13, 2017) — After U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents deceptively suggested they were local police to try to detain a woman in Hartford, the Connecticut Congressional Delegation wrote a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly urging him to direct all agents to clearly identify themselves as ICE officers. Mutual trust between law enforcement officials and local residents is critical to reducing crime and keeping communities safe.

"We write to request that you direct ICE officers who are working on non-undercover duty to wear clothing and equipment that clearly indicates that they are ICE officers and not local police," wrote the Members. "Our local law enforcement agencies work hard to develop public trust in the communities they serve, and those relationships are critical to maintaining public safety, law, and order. If residents in our communities, particularly our immigrant communities, become fearful that police officers are there to target rather than protect them, public safety will suffer and crimes will be more likely to go unreported. Further, a lack of clarity about which law enforcement agencies are on the scene and authorized to engage during a crime, violent altercation, or criminal investigation creates potentially dangerous confusion for both the public and local police agencies."

Following the incident in Hartford, Hartford Police Chief James Rovella remarked, "All law enforcement officials, not acting in an undercover capacity, working in our community should be readily identified by the agencies that they represent. ICE agents should not identify as local police as it is misleading and can damage the important relationship with our local communities."

The full letter is available here.

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