ICE Arrests Nursing Student Outside Connecticut Courthouse as Campus Erupts in Protest

Student Detained During Routine Court Appearance

Keyla, a nursing student at Southern Connecticut State University, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents outside the Middlesex Courthouse in Middletown last week. She is now being held at the Strafford County Corrections center in New Hampshire, according to immigrant rights advocates working on her case.

The arrest triggered an immediate response from the SCSU community. On Monday afternoon, roughly 200 students, faculty, and community organizers gathered outside Buley Library on the main campus to demand her release. The rally drew members from the New Haven Immigrants Coalition, Unidad Latina en Accion, Connecticut Students for a Dream, and UNITE HERE Local 217.

"She needs us and we showed up because we're part of the community," said Cynthia Sanchez, a junior political science major and president of SCSU's College Democrats. "We stand up because it is right. We stand up because we are choosing compassion over fear."

ICE Arrests Double Under Trump Administration

The detention comes as ICE has dramatically escalated enforcement in Connecticut. Since Trump took office in January 2025, ICE arrests have more than doubled statewide, hitting sanctuary cities like New Haven and Hamden particularly hard. Last year, ICE agents raided a Hamden car wash in broad daylight, detaining eight workers.

Tabitha Sookdeo, executive director of Connecticut Students for a Dream, confirmed that Keyla's family has secured legal representation but emphasized the urgent need for additional support. Organizers have launched a GoFundMe to help cover mounting legal fees.

"She's scared," Sookdeo said. "Being in a detention facility is terrible."

Sookdeo and other advocates are now in what she described as "a race against the clock" to collect letters of support from elected officials, including Governor Ned Lamont, that could help secure Keyla's release.

Growing Up in Fear

For many students at the rally, Keyla's arrest hit painfully close to home. Sanchez, who grew up in a mixed-status immigrant household, described living with constant, quiet fear. Even as a U.S. citizen, she carries her passport everywhere she goes, including trips to the grocery store.

That fear kept her silent last year when ICE raided the Hamden car wash. But after the Supreme Court ruled that racial profiling was constitutional, and now with a fellow student in detention, she said she couldn't stay quiet anymore.

"No student should have to fear detention while they navigate their right to due process," Sanchez said, calling on attendees to push for stronger state legislation protecting immigrants and their families.

Justin Farmer, a candidate for state representative studying marine studies, women's and gender studies, and journalism at SCSU, spoke about growing up as the child of a Jamaican immigrant. By age 10, he had three family members who had been deported or incarcerated.

"When we talk about people without status, people without papers, we don't have to be exceptional," Farmer said. "I don't care if they want to be a street sweeper or a neurosurgeon, all of our rights should be upheld."

Demands for Immediate Release

Throughout the rally, speakers demanded that the Department of Homeland Security release Keyla immediately and allow her to continue her nursing studies without the threat of arrest or deportation. Chants of "When We Fight, We Win!" and "ICE Out Now!" echoed across campus.

Tate Kerr, a junior psychology student who emceed the event, framed the rally as part of a broader movement. "We are here today with a clear demand that our student must be brought home," Kerr said. "We will mobilize and unite and bring our student home!"

Members of Unidad Latina en Accion held banners reading "Throw Fire On ICE," channeling the graphic design tradition of Mexico's Taller de Grafica Popular from a century ago.

The family has requested privacy during this time, and organizers have honored that request by not sharing identifying details about Keyla beyond her first name. What remains clear is that her detention has galvanized a community that refuses to let fear dictate who gets to pursue an education in Connecticut.

As ICE continues its expanded enforcement operations across the state, immigrant students and their families face an impossible choice: live in constant fear or risk everything by showing up to class, to work, or to court.