CT Board of Education will require enrollment reports from technical school system after students were denied admission in violation of law.
Laura Tillman
Laura Tillman is CT Mirror’s Human Services Reporter. She shares responsibility for covering housing, child protection, mental health and addiction, developmental disabilities, and other vulnerable populations. Laura began her career in journalism at the Brownsville Herald in 2007, covering the U.S.–Mexico border, and worked as a statehouse reporter for the Associated Press in Mississippi. She was most recently a producer of the national security podcast “In the Room with Peter Bergen” and is the author of two nonfiction books: The Long Shadow of Small Ghosts (2016) and The Migrant Chef: The Life and Times of Lalo Garcia (2023), which was just awarded the 2024 James Beard Award for literary writing. Her freelance work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and The Los Angeles Times. Laura holds a degree in International Studies from Vassar College and an MFA in nonfiction writing from Goucher College.
Posted inImmigration
CT receives letter from AG Bondi alleging ‘sanctuary policies,’ demanding response
CT received a letter this week from the U.S. Attorney General alleging state policies impede federal immigration enforcement.
Posted inPolitics
CT DCF Commissioner Jodi Hill-Lilly steps down
Hill-Lilly’s departure comes as CT awaits another key child welfare role — leading the Office of the Child Advocate — to be filled.
Posted inEducation
Hartford’s attorneys argue for dismissal of Aleysha Ortiz lawsuit
Attorneys representing Hartford argued district officials didn’t neglect to follow procedures because they weren’t legally required to do so.
Posted inImmigration
Sen. Blumenthal visits CT resident in ICE detention
An Afghan man, known as Zia S., served as an interpreter for U.S. Armed Forces. He came to the U.S. through a process called humanitarian parole.
Posted inImmigration
State, but no CT cities, on DOJ list of ‘sanctuary jurisdictions’
Six CT cities were on a list of ‘sanctuary cities’ published and withdrawn in May by Homeland Security. They are not on the new list.
Posted inHuman Services
Deluged by need, Torrington food bank gets big state investment
Friendly Hands Food Bank in Torrington is struggling to keep up with the 11,000 people it now feeds each month. A $2M state grant will help.
Posted inHealth
What’s it like inside an overdose prevention center? We went to RI to find out.
Photos show how Rhode Island set up its first overdose prevention center — also known as a safe injection site.
Posted inHealth
Lamont nixed overdose prevention centers, but advocates fight on
People can use illegal substances at the centers with staff supervision. Advocates say they save lives. Others say they encourage drug use.
Posted inGovernment
CT sues over ‘chilling effect’ of SNAP recipient data collection
The lawsuit seeks to block the Trump administration from conditioning SNAP funding on whether states provide the personal data of applicants.
Posted inImmigration
Lawmakers work to free Afghan interpreter arrested by ICE in CT
The former interpreter for U.S. troops in Afghanistan was detained on July 15 despite having been approved for humanitarian parole in 2024.
Posted inHuman Services
CT kids’ crisis care centers face funding problems
CT’s urgent and mobile crisis centers, which help children in mental health crises, are running low on funds, service providers say.
Posted inImmigration
ICE presence in Danbury leaves residents shaken: ‘Painful day’
A co-founder of Greater Danbury Unites for Immigrants said 12 to 15 people were detained amid stepped-up immigration enforcement in CT.
Posted inHealth
After RFK Jr. autism claims, CT families respond — one with a poem
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. painted a bleak picture of people with autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, that was especially hurtful to some.
Posted inPolitics
‘No Kings’ protests draw thousands to CT and across the U.S.
The ‘No Kings’ protest drew thousands of people to the state Capitol in Hartford to demonstrate against President Trump’s policies.
