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

Condemned

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

Open source (opens in a new tab)Viewer video allegedly shows ICE agents entering Meriden courthouse to make arrestParagraphs quoting Miguel Castro and the Meriden mayor's office

Reporting

Open source (opens in a new tab)Man Arrested By ICE At Meriden Courthouse, Activist Injured In Confrontation: ReportsParagraphs quoting Miguel Castro's Facebook post and the Judicial Branch's statement to WFSB

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ICE agents walk outside the Meriden courthouse as bystanders film them.
Credit: Laura Tillman/CT Mirror

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.

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Source and context

Reporting

Viewer video allegedly shows ICE agents entering Meriden courthouse to make arrest (opens in a new tab)Paragraphs quoting Miguel Castro and the Meriden mayor's office

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

Man Arrested By ICE At Meriden Courthouse, Activist Injured In Confrontation: Reports (opens in a new tab)Paragraphs quoting Miguel Castro's Facebook post and the Judicial Branch's statement to WFSB

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

Condemned

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 case

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.”
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The Dispute Index
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Castro calls it "even more concerning" that marshals are "cooperating with and interacting and sharing information with ice agents"
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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