House Democrats approved changes to Connecticut’s Trust Act on Wednesday, saying the proposal is an attempt to give the law teeth while rolling back some protections.
The 96-51 vote, which sends the bill to the Senate, comes as Connecticut is caught in a fight with the Trump administration over cooperation on deportation efforts and immigration policy.
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WATCH HERE“Look, we’re certainly not trying to provoke the president or provoke (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement),” Rep. Steven Stafstrom, (D-Bridgeport), said. “We’ve had a Trust Act on the books for over a decade now. That is no secret.”
The Trust Act greatly limits the amount of cooperation law enforcement can offer to ICE in most cases without immigration agents providing proof of a warrant.
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SIGN UP It does not grant authority to any state or municipal personnel to interfere or prevent ICE agents from taking a person into custody.
The bill would make several changes to the Trust Act, including adding parole officers and prosecutors to the list of law enforcement personnel covered by the act.
It also rolls back the protections for some crimes, though. The current Trust Act does not limit cooperation when an undocumented immigrant is convicted of a Class A or B felony.
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The bill would add other Class C and D felonies to that list, such as sexual assault, certain crimes against minors and some violent offenses.
“That was a big a priority for some of our caucus members,” State Rep. Matt Ritter, (D-House Speaker), said. “I would say sexual assault in nature and kind of hard to disagree with them on this point.”
The last change is that the bill would allow individuals to sue municipalities over alleged violations of the Trust Act.
The bill paves the way to seek a court order stopping cooperation but does not allow for monetary damages.
Republicans warned that the change could lead to expensive legal challenges though, especially since various immigration advocacy groups could still offer funding and support for legal challenges.
“It’s a huge cost to our communities if individuals are allowed to bring lawsuits, especially the way that it’s written, nonprofits who might be representing individuals, could bring the lawsuits,” Rep. Vincent Candelora, (R-Minority Leader) said.
Republicans also have maintained that the state should roll back the limitations even further to allow cooperation on all felony convictions.
The Trust Act has been a law since 2013 and this bill would be the first update in six year.
Gov. Ned Lamont, (D), has urged caution on expanding the Trust Act, but a spokesman said he is supportive of the bill that cleared the House.
“His priority has always been making sure people feel safe in our schools, churches and elsewhere and that, regardless of status, criminal are kept off our streets,” the spokesman, Rob Blanchard, said in a statement.
At least three federal agencies have tried to tie funding to immigration policies, prompting Attorney General William Tong to join other states in lawsuits challenging those policies.
