a public defender

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This story is not going away and rightfully so. After Danbury’s mayor asked that state police be deputized as immigration agents and after a meeting held by Citizens for Immigration Control in Danbury, several immigrant rights groups met with Mayor Boughton to discuss his intentions.

"We think it is our role, when possible, to lower the temperature when
there is tension," said Robert Fishman, president of the Connecticut
Immigrant and Refugee Coalition in Hartford, who organized the meeting.

Boughton asked the police to double up as immigration agents - thereby giving them the authority to ask anyone they detain their immigration status - because "illegal immigrants drain city services". However, there has been no specific information as to the actual number of illegal immigrants, the services they drain and to what extent.

Others in attendance at the mayor’s meeting Tuesday included Rabbi
Clifford Librach of the United Jewish Center in Danbury and Fernando
Betancourt, executive director of the Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs
Commission in Hartford. Betancourt’s commission advises the governor and state lawmakers on Latino issues.

While city officials maintain there are as many as 15,000
illegal immigrants in the city from places such as Brazil, Ecuador,
Mexico, and the Dominican Republic, Betancourt said he wanted proof
from City Hall. "We are confused when the problem is illegal immigrants because
no one can provide any specific statistics about how many there are,
where they live and what the specific problem is," Betancourt said.

Betancourt said if Danbury officials can provide precise
information on which services illegal immigrants impact, his group
could work with the city on issues such as affordable housing and
economic development.

Yes, that would be nice. Instead of saying "there is a problem with illegal immigrants", why can’t Boughton have said "there are a significant number of illegal immigrants in the city and we need to figure out how to adjust our services to cope with that."

It’s nice to know that now he is making a genuine effort to reach out to the immigrant community by agreeing to build three volleyball courts.

The Attorney General still hasn’t issued an opinion on Boughton’s request.