Castro calls it "even more concerning" that marshals are "cooperating with and interacting and sharing information with ice agents"
Miguel CastroImmigrant-rights advocate and former Meriden city councilman
Miguel Castro, an immigrant-rights advocate, said judicial marshals protected the ICE agents inside the courthouse while keeping advocates out, and criticized marshals for cooperating with and sharing information with ICE.
Responding to
The man ICE arrested at the Meriden courthouse had been in court for a motor-vehicle violation and was targeted through racial profiling.
“Public safety should be one of our priorities to make sure members of our community can actually perform all of their duties and obligations in a safe environment. But even more concerning that judicial Marshalls are actually cooperating with and interacting and sharing information with ice agents”
Reporting
Reporting

Where this statement fits
Did ICE's conduct at the Meriden, Connecticut, courthouse violate the state's TRUST Act?
On September 23, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, some wearing face coverings, entered a courthouse in Meriden, Connecticut, and took Welington Leonel Almara-Diaz into custody. Activists confronted the agents outside the courthouse entrance, asking why they were violating the state's TRUST Act, which limits immigration enforcement at Connecticut courthouses; sources disagree on whether the law's separate ban on masked law enforcement was already in effect that day. Judicial marshals moved activists away from the entrance; one woman was pepper-sprayed and another fell and was taken to a hospital by ambulance, though sources also disagree on who pushed her. The Connecticut Judicial Branch confirmed marshals had received a warrant of removal or deportation before the arrest and said it was reviewing whether state law was followed. ICE said the arrest was appropriate because Almara-Diaz had a 2023 removal order, and said judicial marshals impeded the arrest; the Judicial Branch later said its review did not support that. State officials, including Attorney General William Tong and Governor Ned Lamont's office, said ICE's conduct at the courthouse was improper. The dispute is whether ICE's conduct at the courthouse, including its use of face coverings and how the operation and marshals' cooperation with it were carried out, complied with the TRUST Act.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Reports the Meriden mayor's office statement that it was not notified of the operation, and Miguel Castro's on-record account of the confrontation.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
About this source
Reports Miguel Castro's Facebook post describing the arrest as racial profiling, and reproduces the Connecticut Judicial Branch's full statement to WFSB.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Castro, who was recording the confrontation, said advocates gathered outside the courthouse after learning ICE agents were nearby.
After the quotation
Castro separately wrote on Facebook that the man ICE arrested had been in court for a motor-vehicle violation and was targeted through racial profiling.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Castro directly criticizes the marshals' cooperation with ICE as concerning, an express criticism of that conduct.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Connecticut Judicial Branch
More from this case
Read the full caseStafstrom calls for further protections after the Meriden arrest
“an abusive, scandal-ridden and frankly destabilizing force”Read statement
Barrett withholds a verdict on whether the Meriden arrest violated state law
“to figure out if our law was violated here”Read statement
Hands Off Connecticut calls the marshals' cooperation with ICE "an unforgivable act of collaboration"
Hands Off Connecticut
“When federal agents barged into the state courthouse in Meriden, they did not just abduct another community member, they fundamentally challenged the legitimacy of our state government. Marshals opened the doors wide for ICE while pushing the citizens out of their own courthouse. ICE went so far as to pepper spray bystanders and a marshal assaulted another, causing one to be taken from the court by ambulance to the ER. This is an unforgivable act of collaboration, for which we demand justice.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Castro calls it "even more concerning" that marshals are "cooperating with and interacting and sharing information with ice agents"". First published: 2026-09-29. Last updated: 2026-09-29. https://disputeindex.com/events/3277-miguel-castro-an-immigrant-rights-advocate-said-judicial