Connecticut Democrats have advanced a controversial bill amending the state’s Trust Act to let “any aggrieved person” sue municipalities—including police and school employees—that work with federal immigration authorities, according to Law Enforcement Today.
The Law Enforcement Today article says that the measure, passed 96-51 along party lines, was prompted by claims from immigrant advocates that some towns ignore existing state law governing local cooperation with ICE. Although it wouldn’t grant immediate recourse to detained migrants, it allows future lawsuits and forces municipalities to pay legal fees if they lose.
House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, who supported the 2013 Trust Act, criticized the expansion: “It’s not enough that municipalities and our public safety cannot communicate with ICE for them to do their job. They’re now going to allow these same individuals to sue our towns and cities,” he said.
Democratic Rep. Steven Stafstrom said the change aims to reassure immigrants they can seek help from local police without fear of deportation: “We’re trying to strike the right balance,” he said.
Republicans slammed the move. Rep. Doug Dubitsky called the Trust Act “a travesty,” while Rep. Craig Fishbein questioned its purpose: “Do we trust the government to use the statutes that are in place to protect us?”
Mathew Silverman, head of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, argued that sanctuary laws “weaken the relationship between local and federal law enforcement,” making it harder to catch “dangerous individuals” and “intercept deadly fentanyl.”
Rep. Farley Santos, who came to the U.S. from Brazil as a child, defended the bill, saying: “They [illegal aliens] are the next doctors, they are the next entrepreneurs, they are the next public servants.”
Critics say the expansion ties the hands of law enforcement and undermines public safety by limiting cooperation with federal agencies.
