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ICE activity reported in Norwalk; advocates urge caution

January 21, 2026
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Ashley RK Smith

NORWALK, Conn. — Immigration advocates are urging residents to exercise caution after reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in Norwalk on Wednesday morning, including confirmed sightings of agents in the city.

A representative with Good Trouble Norwalk, a chapter of Indivisible, said her group received confirmation that ICE officers were present on Lexington Avenue earlier in the day.

“We have confirmation that they are in Norwalk,” Good Trouble said. 

She said the information prompted local advocates to begin mobilizing observers and to alert community members who may have appointments or other business in public spaces where ICE activity has been reported.

Good Trouble Norwalk Indivisible activated its rapid response network shortly after receiving the report, she said, noting that the situation developed quickly and that organizers were working to assess and verify information as it became available.

The organization encouraged residents to remain alert and to stay in contact with trusted local organizations if they have concerns, emphasizing that updates would be shared if additional confirmed information emerges.

NancyOnNorwalk contacted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to confirm the reported activity. The agency had not responded as of publication.

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39 responses to “ICE activity reported in Norwalk; advocates urge caution”

  1. Skip Hagerty

    Why would a law-abiding resident be concerned that ICE officers were in the city?

    1. Elsa Peterson Obuchowski

      Renee Nicole Good was a law-abiding resident. If citizens like her aren’t safe, none of us are safe. That is why I for one am concerned.

      1. Melissa Slattery

        Thank you. This exactly.

        A mother was shot three times in the face, had a pulse for 9 minutes after the assault, was allowed to bleed out on the street uncomforted by a doctor on the scene offering aid, all the evidence at the crime scene was removed & the murderer praised.

        Yeah, we’re concerned.

        1. Skip Hagerty

          I don’t plan to use my car to block a street in order impede federal law enforcement nor recklessly race off when they ask me to exit the vehicle. Hence, I am not concerned.

          1. Steve Bouza

            Skip, you are being incredibly naive if that was your takeaway from the videos and media coverage of the Renee Good killing. But let’s put that one aside for a moment and bring this issue back to local. Ice has been to our town before and they acted no different. You commented on the article I’m about to reference so you should already be aware of this. Back in August they tazed, rough housed and detained what we now know was a law abiding legal citizens of our own town. They violated their constitutional rights, would not let them show their documents and escalated an interaction leading to use of excessive force. We have seen how the masked gestapo operates in our own town and frankly it should concern you.

          2. Scott Goodwin

            So you’re good with law enforcement murdering Americans as long as it’s not you they’re shooting at. Thanks for clarifying.

        2. walter o’reilly

          As previously stated by another reader, don’t intentionally go to where law-enforcement are conducting operations and interfere with them. That’s how bad things happen. If you want to defend criminals, do it in the courts.

          1. Thomas Blyth

            Immigration offenses are generally civil offenses akin to a speeding ticket in our legal system. Nothing can justify anonymous brownshirts going door to door asking for your papers like the gestapo and the slave-patrols that preceded them, least of all this.

            Beyond that, noninterference has not been enough to protect people from ICE’s violence. Destiny Jackson’s family made contact with ICE and received permission to evacuate their children from the neighborhood due to the heavy use of chemical weapons in the vicinity. When they went to leave, officers threw flashbangs into the car, causing all six children to be hospitalized.

            The only criminals involved are ICE.

      2. walter o’reilly

        Wrong. She was obstructing law enforcement when she was tragically killed. That was what she did for a living. She chose a high risk hobby.

      3. Mike Murray

        Renee Nicole Goode inserted herself into the situation and posed a threat to law enforcement doing their job. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

    2. Nick D.

      Skip, here are two pieces of media that I would request you to look into – Senator Blumethal interviewed several US citizens on Dec 9 on Capitol Hill who had been detained and assaulted by ICE despite providing all the documentation to prove their citizenship. https://youtu.be/OvLkBHsKHmk purely because of how they look and Thomas B. Edsall shared an op-ed in the NYT on Jan 20 detailed extensively how DHS has been breaking the law and targeting black and brown communities. US citizens have been detained, beaten, received TBIs. All done Illegally.

      You may not be a target because of how you look, sound and present yourself but others in your community are being targeted. All we are asking for is some empathy and for you to show up for your neighbors and community when their rights are being stamped on.

    3. J.P. Coleman

      Indivisible & Good Work Norwalk are far left organizations. Those, who support them are supporting the diversion of Norwalk taxpayer. citizens dollars to unvetted, illegal migrants. This is anti American & a cause of divisiveness, throughout Norwalk & the rest of the country. The empathy for illegal migrants is misplaced & hurts our citizens. LEGAL Immigrants are welcome, NOT illegal ones!
      U can blame Biden & his admission of tens of millions of unvetted, illegal migrants for our current countywide DISASTER !

  2. karen bond

    I’m very concerned seeing that police chief of Minnesota said that ice we’re trying to detain officers especially officers of color so yes it concerns me people are loosing their lives to these gang of trumps thugs and this is not America this is trump’s America

    1. Skip Hagerty

      I wasn’t aware that ICE is targeting and detaining police officers of color as well as illegal immigrants of color. On both accounts that’s surprising since 40% of ICE officers are either Latino or Black.
      By unleashing his “thugs”, Trump has deported over 600k people since taking office. It’s weird that he isn’t keeping pace with President Obama who deported 5,281,115 people during his eight years. Maybe Obama’s thugs were even more thuggish.

      1. Elsa Peterson Obuchowski

        Skip Hagerty, you say you weren’t aware, but millions of us were and once you read this you too will be aware.
        “ICE agents drew guns on off-duty officer in Minnesota, chief says
        Federal agents pulled over an off-duty officer in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, stopped her from recording the interaction and drew their guns, a local police chief said.”
        https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/01/20/immigration-agents-minnesota-police-officer/88268058007/
        Everyone in the US has a 1st-amendment right to observe, record, speak, assemble … read the amendment.

        1. Mike Murray

          Funny how State Senator Bb Duff is trying to prevent retail stores from exercising their first amendment rights to use facial recognition programs

  3. Cynthia Flynn

    Whatever she did — whether she was trying to help immigrants avoid ICE, trying to leave when she was told “get the f- out of the car,” or resisting as agents tried to pull her out of her vehicle — the response didn’t have to end in violence. I’ve seen how ICE treats anyone they think is undocumented or anyone who interferes, and I, too, would have been afraid.

    Did it ever occur to them to ask for her license, write down her plate number, give her a warning, or simply tell her in a non-threatening way to move her car? Such a senseless tragedy.

  4. walter o’reilly

    The only people that should be concerned are illegal immigrants that have a criminal record. And law abiding citizens should be just that, law abiding, and don’t break the law by impeding law-enforcement. When you put yourself in danger like that, you should be aware of the risks you are taking.

    1. Nick D.

      Walter – you are blaming citizens who are following the law while ignoring the fact that the DHS is breaking the law everyday.

      Two pieces of media that I would request you to look into – Senator Blumethal interviewed several US citizens on Dec 9 on Capitol Hill who had been detained and assaulted by ICE despite providing all the documentation to prove their citizenship. https://youtu.be/OvLkBHsKHmk purely because of how they look and Thomas B. Edsall shared an op-ed in the NYT on Jan 20 https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/20/opinion/trump-vance-miller-ice.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share detailing extensively how DHS has been breaking the law and targeting black and brown communities. US citizens have been detained, beaten, received brain injuries. All done Illegally.

  5. Priscilla Feral

    ICE is Trump’s Gestapo and anyone who excuses their chaos and violence is on the wrong side of everything that once made the United States the best, most admired, democracy in the world. If pundits detest immigrants, they’re ignorant that we’re a nation of immigrants.
    Conscious, informed citizens see that our country is now off the rails because of the insane, destructive regime.
    Let’s prevail with strong resistance rather than be defeated and filled with despair, which is paralytic .

    1. walter o’reilly

      Consistently repeating the same democrat mantra that ICE is the gestapo does not make it true. Please elaborate how this is any different when the same agency, with the same uniforms, and many of the same personnel, did this exact same thing for President Obama, and he was praised for it? Do you recall the same Tom Homan, who Democrats want to persecute, received a medal from President Obama for his work and deporting so many illegal immigrants? So just stop the insanity. This has nothing to do with ice or illegal immigration, this is all Trump Derrangement Syndrome.

    2. Bryan Meek

      Rhetoric like this is partly responsible for borderline people ruining their lives like The Minnesota agitator. This reader casually throws the word Gestapo frequently. An entity that murdered and tortured tens of thousands of political prisoners. Equating law enforcement who are doing their jobs to those monsters is beyond disgusting.

  6. Priscilla Feral

    From Senator Richard Blumenthal: BREAKING—Whistleblower disclosures reveal a formal ICE policy to ignore the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution. 

    Every American should be terrified by this secret ICE policy authorizing its agents to kick down your door & storm into your home.

  7. Scott Vetare

    Skip, I agree with you 100%
    These liberals want these ILLEGAL people in our country but won’t take them into their homes to help them. When you spin your tires aiming your now deadly weapon at, and hitting a law enforcement officer you own your outcome. Funny how they forgot about Obama doing the same thing. Liberals = hypocrites!

  8. Bryan Meek

    Aiding and abetting. Penalties under 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(B) depend on factors like the number of aliens involved, whether the act was for commercial advantage or private financial gain, and if it caused bodily injury or death:
    • For each alien: Up to 5 years imprisonment (and/or fine) in standard cases.
    • Up to 10 years if for commercial advantage or private financial gain.
    • Up to 20 years if serious bodily injury or life in jeopardy.
    • Death penalty or life imprisonment if death results.

    I recall this movement told us democracy was over because AG Sessions was being fired when they had their unpermitted protest on the green in 2018. A few short years later when they controlled the house, senate, and white house they must have forgotten to change these laws.

  9. Drew Todd

    Good Trouble Network?! Who’s paying and supporting them? Or is this just more fraud they are about to uncover?!

  10. John O’Neill

    What a mess ! Sadly, the chaos that Joe Biden Inc . created has led to this. Yes, Trump’s policies have gone overboard on this, but anyone without bias has to admit Biden’s open border policy created, and continues to create a chaotic mess. While I feel sympathy for Renee Good’s family, I also think what Mother in her right mind would put herself in that situation?

    Steve: I’m not 100% sure that all ICE arrestees in August were legal citizens. In either case, IF prior administration had any border policy to speak of this Norwalk family would still be intact. Why did our legislators not speak up and criticize Biden’s mess in 2021 ? Did they not foresee the financial and civil mess it would create? Obviously not. The Dems talking points memo did not allow for that.
    This whole situation is a problem — The blame however is not all Trumps. Biden and his supporters own it as well.

  11. John Levin

    Worse is the immediate coverup perpetrated by our president and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. Every trained law enforcement officer knows that there are strict procedures which apply to every officer involved shooting, and trained law enforcement officers should be appalled and disgusted with the deliberate disregard for even the basic incident scene responsibilities of the ICE officers present at the time of the shooting of Renee Good. These protocols are explicitly described in a Department of Justice manual titled: Officer-Involved Shootings – A Guide for Law Enforcement Leaders (https://portal.cops.usdoj.gov/resourcecenter/content.ashx/cops-p350-pub.pdf). Further, ICE officers preventing a doctor present at the scene from approaching and treating the victim defies explanation, as does the ICE officers departing the scene, and removing evidence, before local police investigators arrived. Similarly, the US Attorney choosing to block state and local police from participating in the investigation defies explanation. And the Department of Justice departing from standard practice by not assigning its Civil Rights Division to conduct an investigation of this killing by a federal agent adds mystery and opacity. Authoritarian regimes worldwide unapologetically employ organized groups of thugs to harass, intimidate or harm dissidents and regime opponents without legal recourse for their victims. How are Americans expected to view ICE as a legitimate law enforcement arm of our government rather than a group of thugs operating at the whim of the executive branch and outside of our nation’s laws and exempt from independent oversight? I’m 67 years old. In my life I have seen small groups of local law enforcement officers operate outside the law and commit crimes, but I have never seen this at the level of our federal government. This should not be allowed. How can we fix it before it gets worse?

    1. Mike Murray

      If only she minded her own business that day. Or obeyed lawful commands…..

  12. Ashley RK Smith

    I’m a bit of a hermit when it comes to the comments section, but this felt like a moment worth stepping out for.

    In the comments, we’ve seen some very different views about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Some commenters have said ICE’s presence in a city should not concern law-abiding residents and view federal enforcement as a necessary function of government. Others have expressed deep fear, anger, and mistrust, describing ICE’s presence as threatening or dangerous based on personal experience or what they’ve seen happening nationally.

    Those reactions don’t come out of nowhere. They’re shaped by lived experience, family history, and the way national events land close to home. When people start from such different places, it makes sense that they would respond to the same information in very different ways.

    It is okay that people don’t agree here. In fact, disagreement is part of what makes conversations like this important.

    With a topic like this, it can feel urgent, even desperate, to make others understand your point of view. We are living through unprecedented times, and no one truly has a roadmap for how to navigate all of it. That urgency is human.

    But if you want to be heard, it’s just as important to listen. Norwalk is a community. We live together, work together, and share schools, streets, and public spaces.

    Even when we disagree, especially when we disagre, we can talk to each other as neighbors.

    That’s the spirit I hope guides this conversation.

    1. Jeffrey Tauscher

      Brava, Ashley!

      Your comment about how we can strongly disagree but remain civil is an excellent example of how we can diffuse a situation. As issues in the US have become more polarized recently, nothing gets accomplished.

    2. Priscilla Feral

      There’s a cadre of about five pundits who post MAGA propaganda constantly on Nextdoor. That’s not a spirit that informs anyone, nor does it make them neighborly. I mostly don’t reply to lies or intimidation for several reasons., but as a reader, I refuse to agree to the domination that permits their daily array of Trump-approved speech.

      Yesterday, Trump’s remarks proved without a doubt that he isn’t sane at this stage of the game. As media, don’t indulge Trump’s insanity. His bravado yesterday that he’s a dictator…and sometimes you need a dictator sets the stage for the violence he’s perpetuated with fortifying thugs who are ICE. The City of Norwalk’s residents need to be protected from ICE.

      1. Bryan Meek

        What a Dictatorship we live in! One where you can openly disparage leadership, demonize law enforcement, and stereotype people you disagree with. If we only had the good old days of democracy where leaders were handpicked by unelected superdelegates, experimental gene therapy was mandated to keep your job, the internet was censored, and people were debanked and thrown in prison for protesting election results. The good old days where you could enter the country illegally, demand benefits, and launder them back to your homeland while citizens were arrested for having a beer a the dry dock.

      2. Ashley RK Smith

        Things like this always make me think of Scooby-Doo. I know that sounds off topic, but it isn’t, I promise.

        Scooby-Doo does a surprisingly good job of showing how important transparency is.

        In every episode, there’s a masked figure, a ghost, a monster, a robot, causing chaos around town. What gives them power isn’t that they’re supernatural (most of the time). It’s the mask. As long as no one knows who they are, what they want, or what they’re trying to accomplish, they can act without consequences.

        The gang spends the episode asking questions, comparing stories, and paying attention. And in the end, it’s never a monster at all. It’s a regular person. A guy they know. Once the mask comes off, everyone can finally see what the problem actually is, and respond to it.

        Sometimes the motive is selfish. Sometimes it’s misguided. Occasionally its even understandable. But nothing gets resolved until intentions are clear and out in the open.

        That’s why talking to each other matters, even when it’s uncomfortable or difficult. Understanding what someone else believes doesn’t mean agreeing with them. It helps you know what you’re actually responding to, and it makes your own position stronger, not weaker.

        We all live in the same town. The only way forward is to talk openly, listen carefully, and treat each other like neighbors while we do it.

  13. niz judia

    loss of life is most certainty tragic. interfering with law enforcement is a NO NO! many times i have witnessed law enforcement go about things all wrong and many times i have witnessed some good acts and processes by law enforcement. same with the Judaical systems. it is serious that the ppl RESPECT the law and if a person, feels it is not honored or mishandled, show up in court and address the defendant, share what you witnessed and ask if they want your witness testimony involved. all this outta control madness is not helping any one.

  14. Mike Murray

    Anyone know how all this has deterred illegal immigrants from invading across the border? Has it decreased the numbers coming across? Has it increased the number of illegals who have self deported? Increased or decreased the number of illegals currently in the US? Those would be some stats I would be interested in.

  15. Peter Marino

    Thank you Ashley for your grounded perspective.

    I’ve been thinking a lot about what’s happening, and I want to be clear that I’m not in favor of the chaos we’re seeing. There are so many genuinely good people here who deserve a real chance to build a life and contribute to the community. At the same time, it’s also true fact that not everyone who arrives is a good fit for our community’s safety and stability.

    Something that’s helped me put this into perspective is asking myself a simple question:
    How would we be received if, over the next three years, 15 million Americans suddenly decided to move to another specific country?
    How would that country react to such a massive influx of people? How would we be received? And if they asked us to leave, how would I respond?

    I don’t ask this to compare situations directly, but to remind myself how complex and human these issues really are. It’s a tough balance between compassion, practicality, and respect for the communities involved. I do know for a fact that I would NOT under any circumstances interfere with armed Law Enforcement.

  16. Tysen Canevari

    One opinion i have is that we should offer asylum to the ones that were already here. We let them walk into our country now we want to kick them all out. Give them an opportunity to register and prove that they have housing and are working. I am usually strong minded with my opinions but feel a little different about this one. I know Minnesota isn’t correct with a lot they do but we don’t need to have ice going through department stores creating havoc. Priscilla, the problem with Nextdoor is that all the moderators are liberal democrats. As soon as you cross the line against them they suspend you from the site. I have had disagreements with Ashley but at the end of the day if I am not vulgar she will print my comment. Just my 2 cents.

    1. Bryan Meek

      @Tysen. Isn’t it crazy that all duff and team ever talk about is how to evade the law? I never hear about any workshops or help to people get naturalized. The truth is they don’t care about these people if they aren’t victims. There’s a lot of money in poverty and illegal migration

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