NEW HAVEN, Conn. — An e-mail sent by local immigration officials to their agency head the day after the city adopted an ID program for illegal immigrants suggests that the timing of a raid soon thereafter was not coincidental, the city’s mayor said.
Regional Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers told agency director Julie Myers in a June 5 e-mail that New Haven’s Board of Aldermen had voted 25-1 the previous night to make the city the nation’s first to offer illegal immigrants ID cards. City officials said the cards would help immigrants better integrate into mainstream culture by allowing them access to bank accounts and other services.
On June 6, ICE agents swept through the city and detained an estimated 30 illegal immigrants. Critics contend that the raid was retaliation for the city’s adoption of the ID program — a charge the agency has steadfastly denied.
