Larson, Blumenthal, DeLauro, Himes Demand ICE Officials Release West Hartford Restaurateur from Custody

West Hartford, CT - Today, Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01), Senator Richard Blumenthal, and Reps. Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) and Jim Himes (CT-04), sent a letter to ICE leadership probing the recent detention of West Hartford resident Seyo Cecunjanin.

Last week, Seyo Cecunjanin, a West Hartford resident and small business owner, was detained by ICE agents in unmarked vehicles, with guns drawn, outside a Dunkin' location on Park Road. Seyo has resided in the United States since 1997 and raised a family in Connecticut after fleeing Yugoslavia as it was being torn apart by Slobodan Milošević's genocidal campaign of ethnic cleansing. He is legally authorized to work in the United States and owns a restaurant and dry-cleaning business in West Hartford. He has been working toward becoming a Lawful Permanent Resident.

"By all accounts, Mr. Cecunjanin is doing everything that our complicated immigration system is asking of him and raising three upstanding young men on his own while running small businesses and employing members of the community. As the duly elected Congressional Delegation of Connecticut, we request that ICE release Mr. Cecunjanin while his immigration case is pending and that ICE respond to our offices with detailed information on the status of Mr. Cecunjanin," the lawmakers wrote to ICE officials.

"With these actions, ICE has frightened our communities, American-born and immigrant alike, and creating transparency is the first step to regaining their trust. We respectfully urge you to release Mr. Cecunjanin from your custody back to West Hartford, so that he can be with his family, tend to his businesses and continue to pursue his permanent residency process," they continued.

The Connecticut lawmakers' letter follows an outpouring of calls from the West Hartford community to release Seyo from custody and end these out-of-control raids tearing apart immigrant families. On Monday, Larson, Blumenthal, community leaders, and advocates rallied outside West Hartford Town Hall with Seyo's son, Emir, to demand his father's release.

The lawmakers' full letter to ICE leadership demanding Seyo's release is available HERE.