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Federal authorities say an Immigration and Customs Enforcement action in Connecticut should end soon. 27 undocumented immigrants in the state have been arrested so far.
Glenn Formica says his cell phone starting ringing last weekend. He’s an attorney who represents people facing deportation.
"I started receiving phone calls from people saying they were being picked up by immigration."
"This is not a sweep. This is not a raid. This is a targeted immigration enforcement action."
Ross Feinstein is an ICE spokesman based in Washington, DC.
"People who have been repeatedly convicted of crimes, have committed offenses, those are the people we try to detain and ultimately deport from the United States."
Again, attorney Glen Formica:
"That may sound like good policy, saying you did something wrong here. You were a guest. Get out. But when you break it down and now you’ve got US citizen children without parents, spouses who are effectively facing a divorce."
And he says some of his clients have been arrested and face deportation for minor offenses.
The ICE operation in Connecticut is part of an enforcement action taking place nationwide this week. It comes as thousands have rallied across the country this week, calling on Congress to pass immigration reform.
Formica says a comprehensive bill should deal with the issue of criminal waivers.
"...Because that are a lot of contextually hard cases out there that really don’t deserve immigration."
Lawmakers in Washington are expected to unveil a proposed overhaul of the nation’s immigration system in the coming days.
