BOSTON, United Kingdom (CMC) — US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says it has served three immigration subpoenas to the State of Connecticut requesting information on illegal Caribbean and other immigrants who were “criminally arrested” in Connecticut and have refused to honour immigration detainers.

ICE said that Connecticut officials have also refused to provide ICE with information about the release dates of criminal immigrants viewed as public safety threats.

“Issuance of these immigration subpoenas was necessary because the State of Connecticut Department of Corrections has continued to ignore ICE’s requests for information and cooperation,” said the immigration agency in a statement.

Acting field office director Todd M Lyons of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, Boston said, “It’s unfortunate that elected officials in Connecticut seem unable to grasp the public safety threat posed by the criminal illegal aliens these officials are attempting to shield”.

“These are the same criminals who’ve already been arrested for crimes by state and/or local law enforcement, often perpetrated against the very immigrant communities these officials claim to be protecting,” he said.

ICE said it uses statutorily-authorised immigration subpoenas to obtain information as part of investigations regarding potential removable immigrants.

The agency said it has not historically needed to use its lawful authority to issue these subpoenas to obtain information from other law enforcement agencies, “as most law enforcement agencies throughout the country willingly provide ICE with information regarding aliens arrested for crimes in the interest of public safety”.

In recent weeks, ICE said it has also issued immigration subpoenas to authorities in New York City and Denver, Colorado, after announcing it will exercise its “longstanding legal authority to request critical information required to enforce federal immigration law from jurisdictions that adamantly refuse to cooperate”.