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3 clusters · 5 sources · 25 days · First seen · Last updated

West Hartford ICE detention and voter registration probe

Overview

Seyo (Sead) Cecunjanin, a Montenegrin‑born restaurant owner in West Hartford, Connecticut, was taken into ICE custody on 20 June 2026 and held at the Wyatt Detention Center. After a joint letter and press conference from Connecticut’s congressional delegation—including Rep. John Larson, Rep. Jim Himes, Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Sen. Richard Blumenthal—he was released on 2 July 2026 and returned to his businesses. Officials suggested the detention may have resulted from an administrative error and noted it occurred amid a nationwide surge in ICE arrests.

State records later showed that Cecunjanin had been listed as an active voter in West Hartford since 2018 through the motor‑voter system, despite lacking citizenship. The registration was subsequently marked inactive. The discovery prompted the West Hartford Republican Town Committee to request voter‑registration documents and raised questions about the accuracy of voter‑registration safeguards, echoing similar concerns raised in New Jersey.

In late July, Connecticut officials began a formal review of the state’s motor‑voter procedures after a Freedom of Information Act request revealed that the DMV form submitted for Cecunjanin in 2018 was marked as “citizen” and approved by the local registrar on 28 September 2018. Investigators are examining whether the error stemmed from the applicant, DMV staff, or an electronic‑signature handling glitch in the IDEMIA system used to transfer signatures to voter‑registration cards. The probe aims to identify vulnerabilities and prevent future registration of non‑citizens.

Entities

IDEMIA · Seyo Cecunjanin · West Hartford · Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles

Timeline

  1. 22 days ago

    [POLITICS] 2 sources
    West Hartford non‑citizen voter registration sparks Connecticut review

    A West Hartford businessman, non‑citizen Seyo Cecunjanin, was mistakenly registered to vote in 2018, prompting Connecticut to review its motor‑voter registration process and investigate potential electronic‑sig

  2. 27 days ago

    [POLITICS] 2 sources
    West Hartford Undocumented Immigrant's Voter Registration Sparks Policy Scrutiny

    Undocumented Montenegrin immigrant Seyo Cecunjanin was detained and later released in West Hartford, CT, after records showed he was erroneously registered to vote in 2018 under the state motor‑voter law, spark

  3. about 2 months ago

    [POLITICS] 2 sources
    West Hartford Restaurant Owner Seyo Cecunjanin Released After ICE Detention

    West Hartford restaurateur Seyo Cecunjanin, a Montenegrin immigrant, was released after 12 days in ICE custody following pressure from Connecticut Democrats; his pending immigration case remains unresolved.

Sources

ctmirror.org · ctnewsjunkie.com · elsolnews.com · insideinvestigator.org · we-ha.com