A year ago, eleven Ecuadorian day laborers were sneakily apprehended in Danbury's Kennedy Park by Immigration and Customs Enforcement with help from some men pretending to be contractors. They had some hard hats, a van and, according to recently uncovered information, a few Danbury police badges.

Why were the local cops assisting in a federal sting? Well, according to remarks from Danbury mayor Mark Boughton last December, they weren't. He repeatedly said the city played no role in the ICE raid.

Simon Moshenberg, a Yale Law Student representing the "Danbury 11" in a federal court case that began Monday, received the booking report for the arrests after placing a FOIA request. Under "arresting officer," was the name "Lolli," which turns out to be the name of a Danbury police officer. The Danbury News-Times quotes Chief Al Baker explaining that the arrests were initially made because of complaints about the day laborers' effects on traffic and that Danbury police did drive the van. The department chose not to further comment on their involvement when approached by the Weekly.

Boughton elaborated in an e-mail that "the city provided logistical support to ICE," which is "common" and "does not mean that the Danbury PD planned, organized or carried out the raid." He stands by his comments from December.

"I'm concerned that the arrests were carried out with the intention to bring the men to the feds, which is illegal," Moshenberg says. He adds that enforcing immigration laws are "not a legitimate city interest" and that "the government's strategy here is to wave our arguments away as frivolous, but I believe they're failing."

Since being arrested, the men have been through a strange barrage of mixed treatment, which is odd given that they all presented the same case. Six of them were taken to two different prisons in Texas, five were imprisoned in Connecticut and all were seen by different judges. Nine were eventually released on bond (ranging from $1,500 to $10,000) and continue to fight their case with Moshenberg and the other two opted not to fight from jail (which was their only judge-appointed option) and have since been deported. Moshenberg says this toss-around is "emblematic of the incoherent immigration courts in this country."