The Fairfield Police Department would like to address recent inquiries regarding the New York Times Report on Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities. The Fairfield Police Department takes the civil rights of its community members very serious. We seek to find a balance between ensuring people’s Constitutional rights, while still maintaining the safety and security of our community.

The Fairfield Police Department holds that we will not be participating in any efforts or activities as they relate to the enforcement of immigration within our jurisdiction. In 2013, our state legislature passed the “Connecticut Trust Act”. This law is intended to limit local law enforcement’s authority to arrest or detain an individual who was the subject of a federal “civil immigration detainer.” It did so, in part, by prohibiting police from detaining that individual unless one of seven enumerated “exceptions” was also established.

On June 18, 2019, the Governor signed an amendment to the Act, which further limits this authority by reducing these exceptions. This amendment also places additional restrictions on law enforcement’s authority to communicate with immigration officials concerning such detainers. It is important to understand that immigration detainers are not arrest warrants, founded upon probable cause, which allege that the person named therein has committed a criminal act. They are merely “request[s] from a federal immigration authority” that we hold someone. These requests reflect ICE’s positon that the person named in the civil detainer is “removable under U.S. immigration law,” not that they have committed a criminal act. In order to meet the statute’s first exception, the detainer will have to be accompanied by an actual “warrant issued or signed by a judicial officer,” which is defined as a “judge of the state or federal judicial branches,” and does not include an immigration judge.

The Fairfield Police department has updated and reviewed all policies as they relate to this topic, and provided appropriate training for all of its officers who are directly affected, to ensure they are acting within the confines of our constitution. The men and women of the Fairfield Police Department, both sworn and non-sworn, remain dedicated to serve this community with professionalism, integrity and honesty. We pride ourselves on our openness and engagement with the community we serve. It is our responsibility to ensure that the community’s concerns are immediately addressed. It remains our responsibility that we reaffirm to the Fairfield community our commitment to provide professional public safety.

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