Thomas Breen file photo
Registrar of Vital Statistics Patricia Clark: "I've done nothing wrong."
(Updated) The city official responsible for maintaining marriage records has been placed on paid administrative leave as the Elicker administration investigates whether or not she violated a local executive order by reporting at least 73 marriages in a three-month period as “questionable” to federal immigration officials, on state guidance.
City Health Director Maritza Bond notified the official, Registrar of Vital Statistics Patricia Clark, on Nov. 30 that she was to be placed on paid administrative leave effective Dec. 1.
Clark confirmed that she has been put on leave during a Thursday phone interview with the Independent.
“I’ve done nothing wrong,” she said. She added that she had not been told by her supervisor or via the Nov. 30 letter as to exactly why she has been put on leave.
In a Thursday afternoon phone interview in advance of a 4 p.m. City Hall press conference, Elicker explained in greater detail what happened and why his administration has put Clark on leave. The explanation suggested a split in advice given to Clark by the city and state government.
According to the mayor, on Nov. 21, Clark’s supervisor became aware that, between Aug. 23 and Nov. 20, of the 215 marriage licenses issued by New Haven’s vital statistics office, Clark had flagged 73 as “questionable.” She had reported those “questionable” marriages to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) agency, which investigates allegations of immigration fraud by marriage.
Elicker said that the city has hired the firm New Light to investigate whether or not Clark’s actions violate the city’s July 2020 executive order affirming New Haven as “a welcoming city.” That order, among other provisions, states that city employees are not allowed to “engage in activities designed to ascertain a person’s immigration status unless required by state or federal law.”
He also said the city and its hired consultant are investigating the sheer number of marriage licenses issued to immigrants that Clark had flagged as “questionable,” and are looking into how many she may have flagged to federal officials before Aug. 23 of this year.
The mayor noted that, in February of this year, Clark received guidance from the state Department of Public Health that if she was suspicious of the reason behind any marriage involving an immigrant, she should report her concerns to USCIS. He stressed that, again, Clark has been put on paid administrative leave as the city looks into whether her actions violated the city’s executive order and investigates the sheer “quantity” of flagged marriages.
“It’s important to note that this is an investigation,” Elicker said. “We want to be patient” and make sure the city finds out exactly what happened.
He said that his administration is in the process of notifying the 73 married couples whose marriages were flagged as “questionable.” Elicker said that, as far as he’s aware, federal officials have not followed up with any of these individuals whose marriages were flagged by Clark.
“I’ve been mayor for four years,” Elicker said, “over and over and over [I’ve stressed] New Haven is a welcoming and safe city for everyone, regardless of background or document status.” He said employees in the Office of Vital Statistics have been reminded of the city’s “welcoming” executive order, and that Maritza Bond will have to approve all flaggings of “questionable” marriage licenses going forward.
The Vital Statistics office is a subdivision of the Health Department for maintaining local birth, marriage, and death records. The office also manages the Elm City Resident ID card program, a municipal identification program open to all New Haven residents and designed to enable undocumented immigrants to open a bank account or obtain a library card.
Asked for a comment on the facts as laid out by Elicker, Clark said she does not dispute them, and she also does not confirm that they are all accurate. “You’re telling me more than I’ve been told” about why she was put on leave, she said. She declined to elaborate on how or why she would flag a marriage license as “questionable.”
Meanwhile, Bond’s letter announcing Clark’s being put on paid administrative offers a few more details about how this case came to light. It indicates that the administration is investigating “a recent email exchange between [Clark] and a staff member of the State Vital Records, the East Haven Town Clerk, and the Assistant Town Clerk, sent by you to Brooke Logan, Deputy Director of Health, on 29 November 2023.”
That email exchange, Bond wrote in the letter, “raised concerns regarding your decision making as the Registrar of Vital Statistics in context with the services you provide, and your responsibilities to the public.”
After looking through her email, East Haven Town Clerk Lisa Balter told the Independent,“I have no comment because I really don’t know anything and I didn’t see any [email] in that time frame.” Asked for an initial version of this story for a comment about the relevant email exchange with Clark, State Department of Public Health spokesperson Christopher Boyle said the agency is “currently looking into this issue and does not have any additional information to share at this time.”
The letter orders Clark to stay away from City Hall and refrain from performing any city work until otherwise notified.
Bond’s letter continues that “administrative leave is a standard procedure undertaken to allow for an investigation of the situation and protect all parties involved. It is in no way an indication of guilt or misconduct on your part.” It states to Clark that“You are directed to participate in the investigation as needed to help expedite its conclusion.”
During her interview with the Independent, Clark declined to comment on the reason for her being put on leave and on the email exchange mentioned in Bond’s letter.
Bond: "We Will Continue To Foster A Welcoming City"
Laura Glesby photo
City Health Director Bond and Mayor Elicker at Thursday presser.
In a press conference convened on Thursday afternoon on the second floor of City Hall, Health Director Maritza Bond stated that “As a longtime New Haven resident, I will ensure that we will continue to foster a welcoming city model.”
Elicker offered a message to immigrants of all legal statuses that “You are welcome here in City Hall. You are welcome here in our community.”
He added, “It’s unfortunate for the many couples who were celebrating one of the happiest days of their lives who will potentially have that day shadowed by what happened.”
When asked whether the city suspects racial profiling in the way marriages were reported to the federal government, Elicker responded, “Those things will be in the investigation. It’s hard to make any conclusions” based on the available information now.
Matos: "Shameful & Atrocious"
Laura Glesby file photo
Kica Matos, testifying before the Board of Alders earlier this year.
Kica Matos, the president of the National Immigration Law Center and a longtime advocate for immigrants in New Haven, said on Thursday that the incident “smacks of racial profiling.”
She stressed that reports to USCIS can put immigrants at risk of facing ICE enforcement.
“This seems to me to be yet more evidence that we have descended into anti-immigrant territory in the city. I find that to be both shameful and atrocious,” Matos said.
Matos said that Clark’s actions appear to have gone beyond what federal and state laws require of municipal employees. “I am not aware of any state or federal law that mandates that vital statistics officers report alleged fake marriages to USCIS,” she said. “This clerk appears to have appointed herself as a ‘marriage fraud detector.’ What she has done is inappropriate.”
She argued that Clark’s actions “appear to violate both the spirit and the letter of the city’s executive order.”
Clark’s reporting of “questionable” marriages occurred as immigrant rights’ advocates continued a longtime campaign for the Board of Alders to codify the city’s “sanctuary” status as an ordinance with more permanent authority.
“This is an example of why the ordinance is needed,” Matos said. “The more you can give teeth and gravitas and weight to policies, the better off you are.”
Days earlier, she had testified before the Board of Alders urging the city to fortify the Elm City ID program, a service that fell under Clark’s purview. “The news today sheds light on part of the reason why this program has been neglected. We have a clerk who appears to have anti-immigrant animus leading the charge in the office of vital statistics,” Matos said.
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Clark reported 73 out of 215 marriages between citizens and non-citizens to immigration services. On Dec. 14, the Elicker administration clarified that Clark actually reported 78 out 215 total marriages as issued by the vital statistics office between late August and late November.