Connecticut leaders gathered in Bridgeport Friday morning to underscore the state’s support of immigrants and refugees in advance of this weekend’s raids.
TRUST Act
Posted inNews
CT immigrant advocates brace for wave of ICE raids, but say they are prepared
Immigration raids focusing on families may begin this weekend, but the full impact of the new Trump administration policy in Connecticut is unclear.
Posted inJustice
Trust Act: Conn. restricts cooperation with ICE
A divided Connecticut General Assembly took a major step Thursday towards restricting the state’s cooperation with ICE.
Posted inJustice
CT Senate passes bill restricting cooperation with ICE
Connecticut jumped back into the contentious national debate over immigration enforcement as Senate Democrats voted early Wednesday to pass a bill that would further restrict how police and court personnel can work with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain undocumented immigrants.
Posted inJustice
Connecticut reopens debate over its role in deportations
Connecticut once again is debating how far it can go to protect immigrants against deportation.
Posted inPolitics
CT sues DOJ over immigration conditions on policing grant money
WASHINGTON – Connecticut on Wednesday joined five other states in suing to block the Justice Department for its efforts to punish so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions by putting immigration-related conditions on federal policing grants. Connecticut would lose more than $1.7 million in Byrnes crime-fighting grants if it does not comply with the conditions.
Posted inPolitics
GOP immigration bill would allow lawsuits against ‘sanctuaries’ like Connecticut
WASHINGTON – A House Republican immigration bill adopts a new tactic to punish “sanctuary” cities and states – making it easier to sue them. The legislation aims to punish states like Connecticut that fail to respond to some requests from federal immigration authorities to hold prisoners past their release date so they can be picked up and deported.
Posted inNews
Sentencing change would help immigrants avoid ICE involvement
A bill recommended by the Connecticut Sentencing Commission would shave misdemeanor sentences from 365 days to 364 — minimizing the chance immigrants convicted of low-level crimes would face involvement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Posted inJustice
CT lawmakers ask Sessions if policing money delayed by ‘sanctuary’ policy
WASHINGTON — Connecticut’s lawmakers on Tuesday asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions why the state has not received about $2.6 million in 2017 federal policing grants, suggesting the delay may be the result of “Connecticut’s immigration laws and policies.” “If true, this delay would be illogical and potentially illegal,” the delegation letter said.
Posted inJustice
CT questions Sessions over ‘sanctuary city’ policing grant ban
Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen on Tuesday asked U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to clarify new rules requiring that those seeking federal policing money certify they are cooperating with federal immigration authorities. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy also have written Sessions over his policy of cracking down on “sanctuary” cities and states by withholding federal law enforcement funds.
Posted inPolitics
U.S. House takes aim at ‘sanctuaries’ like Connecticut
WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives, on largely party-line votes, approved two bills Thursday aimed at tightening immigration enforcement and stripping local jurisdictions of federal policing money if they don’t fully cooperate with immigration authorities.
Posted inPolitics
Immigrant advocates say CT didn’t act to help undocumented at ‘crucial’ time
WASHINGTON — With a federal crackdown on the undocumented underway, Connecticut’s immigrant advocates who were hoping for help from Democratic state lawmakers are bitterly disappointed legislators failed to provide any new protections.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Trump budget makes another attempt to target ‘sanctuaries’
WASHINGTON — Tucked into the massive $4.4 trillion budget President Donald Trump released this week is the administration’s latest attempt to punish cities and states, like Connecticut, that it considers “sanctuaries,” a move the Malloy administration and others say is unconstitutional.
Posted inJustice
Despite immigrant-friendly stance, CT shares information with ICE
Updated at 9:20 p.m.
WASHINGTON — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s confidence that Connecticut won’t be subject to Trump administration punishment of “sanctuary” cities and states is based on its policy of information-sharing with federal immigration authorities.
Posted inJustice
When the kids are American, and the parents face deportation
Connecticut opened an outreach campaign Wednesday to undocumented immigrants in the state who are the parents of an estimated 22,000 American-born children, urging them to select a “standby guardian” in the event they are detained or deported. If 10 percent of them ended up in state care, the cost would be $60 million.