29 illegal immigrants arrested 2 days after ID proposal passes

NEW HAVEN, Conn. --Federal agents arrested 29 illegal immigrants in a raid Wednesday, two days after the city approved a program to make municipal identification cards available to them, federal officials said.

Paula Grenier, a spokeswoman for the Boston office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, confirmed that 29 immigrants who had already been ordered by judges to leave the country were arrested in a routine fugitive operation in New Haven.

She said that those arrested were in ICE custody and would be sent back to their home countries.

Kica Matos, who oversees the New Haven department that assists immigrants, said most of the arrests were in the city's Fair Haven section, home to many immigrants. Officials believe none of the immigrants have criminal records, she said. Matos said she believes the raids are related to the Board of Aldermen's 25-1 vote this week to create all-purpose municipal identification cards. The cards will allow illegal immigrants to open bank accounts and use other services that may be unavailable without driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards.

"Just two days ago the Board of Aldermen approved this resolution, and today we have the federal government terrifying New Haven residents and taking people away," Matos said.

Grenier said the raids had nothing to do with the city's approval of the ID program.

"These are routine fugitive operations," he said. "We have teams deployed all over the U.S."

But DeStefano wasn't buying that explanation.

"Now there are in America 11,000 cities, towns and villages, but somehow, by some act of circumstance or coincidence, within 36 hours, the response was in New Haven," DeStefano said.

Supporters say the ID program, believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, will help keep the city's estimated 15,000 illegal immigrants safe. If they can open bank accounts, they will not need to carry large amounts of cash, a practice that makes them easy targets for robbers.

New Haven has been more welcoming to immigrants than many places, offering federal tax help and prohibiting police from asking about their immigration status.

The mayor's office said city police did not assist with the raids because of that policy.