Town Council President Dominique Baez speaking at a New Haven Immigrants Coalition press conference along with local, state officials as well as pastors and organization leaders at the Keefe Community Center on Wednesday afternoon. 
State Sen. Jorge Cabrera speaking at a New Haven Immigrants Coalition press conference along with local, state officials as well as pastors and organization leaders at the Keefe Community Center on Wednesday afternoon. 
State Rep. Steven Winter speaking at a New Haven Immigrants Coalition press conference along with local, state officials as well as pastors and organization leaders at the Keefe Community Center on Wednesday afternoon. 
State Rep. Josh Elliot speaking at a New Haven Immigrants Coalition press conference along with local, state officials as well as pastors and organization leaders at the Keefe Community Center on Wednesday afternoon. 
Manantial De Gracia United Church Pastor Edwin Perez speaking at a New Haven Immigrants Coalition press conference along with local, state officials as well as pastors and organization leaders at the Keefe Community Center on Wednesday afternoon. 
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided Optimo Car Wash on Dixwell Avenue on Wednesday.
HAMDEN — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided a local car wash Wednesday morning, taking custody of as many as eight people, officials said.
An official with the Hamden mayor’s office said the raid took place at Optimo Car Wash on Dixwell Avenue near Third and Fourth streets. The operation was believed to have concluded by around 10:30 a.m. 
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The official said seven or eight people were taken into custody, at least a few with school-age children. Officials were trying to determine where the children attend school so they could be notified. 
Mayor Lauren Garrett held a news conference at the Keefe Community Center Wednesday afternoon about the incident. She was joined by Hamden Town Clerk Karimah Mickens, Hamden Chief of Police Edward Page Reynolds and members of the state delegation as well as local officials and community leaders.
“One of my biggest concerns is that there was a mother and father who were taken," the mayor said during the afternoon news conference. "Their children are in school. We don’t know which community. We don’t know how to contact that school. We’re still trying to find out how to get in touch with this family so that their kids don’t go to an empty house when they get off of school."
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ICE officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment and information about the raid.
Connecticut Students for a Dream Executive Director Tabitha Sookdeo said they stand with the Hamden community. 
“Our children are not OK. Our youth are not OK. There are students, there are children who are not going to school right now because they’re terrified of what could happen to them. Now we have children who will not be picked up from school today and that’s a huge problem,” Sookdeo said. “So what I call on us as a community is to stand up because this is not just an immigration issue. This is a Black and a brown person issue and this is Hamden issue, this is a Connecticut issue.” 
Manantial De Gracia United Church Pastor Edwin Perez said as a pastor of a Latina Christian community in Hamden, the raid upset him. 
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“For those who call themselves Christians who stand with this abuse, shame on you. Shame on you for trying to theologize and normalize things aren’t normal,” Perez said. “Shame on you for trying to make this seem OK when it’s most certainly not OK.” 
State Sen. Jorge Cabrera said this a real issue and not something that’s just happening on television screens or videos streaming on phones.
“It’s very important for all of us to remember what these folks were doing. They were working,” Cabrera said. “They were doing the responsible things to support themselves and their loved ones. They were working. They weren’t committing crimes.”  
Cabrera said state legislators are going into special session soon where they will have an opportunity to take action. 
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“We have to decide what kind of community we’re going to be,” Cabrera said. “We have to decide what kind of state we’re going to be. Are we going to hide and be silent or are we going to stand up and speak loudly with one voice and take action.” 
State Rep. Steven Winter said the solidarity at the news conference is real as well as the emotion that everyone there was feeling in their hearts. 
“There’s a lot of things that are being done in the United States of America under this administration in the name of keeping us safe, in the name of keeping our community safe,” Winter said. “I cannot imagine being one of those two little children waiting for someone to pick me up at school this afternoon and I cannot fathom how that is keeping any of us safe.” 
First Presbyterian Church Pastor Emily Scott said a customer of the car wash was also taken by ICE agents. 
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“This is our community and these are our friends, our neighbors," Scott said.
“Today was federal intimidation, not justice. We condemn it. Hamden stands by its people, all of them and we will not allow strangers to create chaos in our town,” Town Council President Dominique Baez said.
State Rep. Josh Elliot said "anybody who’s elected right now who believes that it’s OK to keep our head down and hope that this will pass, you’re part of the problem and you’re not doing the work that this moment calls for."
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“It is the people that are in this room right now who are speaking up against what we’re seeing as an incursion from the federal government, unwanted action from our federal government that we need right now in this moment," Elliot said. "These are the people that we need. ICE is not welcome in this town. ICE is not welcome in this state.” 
Liz Hardaway is a breaking news reporter with Hearst Connecticut Media Group.
She was a Hearst fellow in Connecticut and at the San Antonio Express-News where she covered city hall and local issues. She also worked at the Sun Newspapers in Southwest Florida as a general assignment reporter covering politics, business, and health. 
Liz graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in 2018 with a B.A. in journalism. She enjoys cooking, reading and playing with her dachshund, Finn.
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