Danbury, Connecticut's city council has approved a measure allowing legal non-citizen immigrants and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program recipients to apply for police officer positions. The decision, which passed with an 18-2 vote, has prompted a strong rebuke from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which stated the policy is "encouraging criminal illegal aliens."
City Council Member Joe Britton, a Democrat, called the vote "timely," noting recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the area and stating it "sends a message to our immigrant community at large that you are welcome in Danbury." However, a DHS spokesperson countered that the city council "should be thanking our law enforcement for removing these dangerous criminals from Connecticut—NOT vilifying law enforcement."
The DHS spokesperson further asserted that "an oath of office is a commitment to upholding the law, not encouraging criminal illegal aliens to break it," and that "while these people smear ICE, law enforcement is arresting criminals and saving countless American lives."
In August, ICE operations in Connecticut resulted in over 65 arrests. According to an ICE news release, those arrested included individuals with criminal convictions for offenses such as assault, sexual assault, false imprisonment, and molestation of a minor. The DHS provided examples, including Eddy Ruano from Guatemala, convicted of molestation of a minor; Ericko Valenuela-Chua from Guatemala, convicted of sex assault and assault; Elvin Caceres-Martinez from Nicaragua, convicted of assault and weapon offenses; and Frank Guaman from Ecuador, convicted of sex assault and false imprisonment.
Britton denied that his position encourages illegal activity, stating to Fox News Digital, "DHS is attacking an argument I never made" and "I have no objection to arresting violent criminals." He clarified that his objection is to "using a handful of serious criminal cases to justify fear-driven enforcement tactics that make entire immigrant communities feel targeted."
Britton argued that "Danbury is safer when residents trust local government and law enforcement, not when innocent families are afraid that simply going to work, school, or church could put them in the middle of an immigration raid and subject themselves to detention or arrest." He added that "supporting law enforcement does not require remaining silent when federal enforcement creates unnecessary fear in our community."
The DHS spokesperson highlighted that "the vilification of ICE must stop" and that "America’s brave ICE agents put their lives on the line every day to enforce U.S. law and arrest criminal illegal aliens—including gang members, rapists, and murderers." The spokesperson also attributed the rhetoric criticizing ICE to a "more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them."