With ICE Lurking, Bridgeport’s Messy, Money-Making Marriage Mill Under Scrutiny

Trump is back and so too the full force of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency that could hamper the marriage mill that’s stacking wads of cash for a number of city pols providing on-the-spot nuptials.

The city’s Office of Vital Records is perched conveniently at the entrance to the Margaret Morton Government Center on Broard Street Downtown. It is the go-to place for marriages licenses, birth certificates, death certificates and so on.

Assembly-line marriages, funneled by New York middlemen, have become a windfall to earn political insiders thousands of dollars per month, be it justices of the peace, and other city employees moonlighting matrimonial services charging hundreds of dollars per nuptial.

Paul Bass of the New Haven Independent recently brought to light the marriage stampede in the Elm City involving out-of-state couples with calls to action by the state legislature citing a broken immigration system.

From the article:

The Independent also found that similar waves of out-of-state half-immigrant couples have tied up work at marriage-license offices across the state, from Trumbull to Bridgeport to Southington. An attorney contacted by arrangers of some of the marriages said they tend to involve graduate students seeking permanent permission to stay in the country.

State Senate Republicans issued a statement calling for the state attorney general to conduct a ​“thorough review” of the situation.

The Independent article ​“raises a host of troubling red flags. An experienced immigration attorney who was quoted in the article described it as ​‘a classic indicator of marriage fraud,’ ” read the Republicans’ statement, issued by Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding and State Sens. Rob Sampson and Eric Berthel.

In April, city employees were placed on notice to divorce themselves from conducting marriage ceremonies on city time.

Recently, this was posted on the Vital Records website:

Effective November 4, 2024, there will be a mandatory 48-hour waiting period for obtaining a certified marriage certificate after the submission of a marriage license. This change aligns with a recent recommendation from the Connecticut State Department of Public Health and is intended to improve the processing and verification of marriage records. To order your certified marriage certificate on-line please visit: https://www.vitalchek.com/v/marriage-certificate and follow instructions to order your certified copy.

We advise couples planning to marry to take this waiting period into consideration for their arrangements. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we work to ensure accuracy and security in vital records.

In April, Chief Administrative Officer Tom Gaudett fielded many complaints about the “high volume” of municipal staffers’ marriage services at Vital Records

In Connecticut marriage officiates may charge what they please for the services but it certainly is the way to go for budget conscience bethrothers in need of a quick hitch and marriage of convenience.

This policy was enacted:

• Weddings being performed for individuals who are NOT Bridgeport residents must fill out a digital marriage license application form on the City’s website and submit copies of photo IDs for both individuals being married. The online application is already available for people to begin the process of booking their appointment at bridgeportct.gov/government/departments/vital-records/marriage-licenses

• The Office of Vital Records, upon review and acceptance of the application and supporting documents, will reach out to each couple via email or phone call to set up an appointment. Payment will be due at the time of the appointment.

• Bridgeport residents will still be allowed same-day marriage license service; however, they are also encouraged to fill out the application online and set up an appointment.

• The Office of Vital Records will be open from 9 AM through 4 PM. The office will no longer close during lunchtime from 12 PM to 1 PM.

Due to these new policy changes and the digitization of marriage license applications, the Office of Vital Records will be able to process marriage licenses much faster and serve customers requesting birth certificates, filing death certificates, applying for Park City Resident IDs, among other requests much faster.

Stay tuned. A lot of fallout may be coming as a result of investigations.