© 2025 New Hampshire Public Radio

Persons with disabilities who need assistance accessing NHPR's FCC public files, please contact us at publicfile@nhpr.org.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Support community focused, fact driven journalism as a Leadership Circle Member today.

Connecticut's immigration policy under scrutiny as Inauguration Day approaches

Attorney General, William Tong, speaks at a Hartford rally where immigrant rights advocates have called on state officials to reassure the public that Connecticut is a welcoming state to immigrants on November 18, 2024.
Dave Wurtzel
/
Connecticut Public
Attorney General, William Tong, speaks at a Hartford rally where immigrant rights advocates have called on state officials to reassure the public that Connecticut is a welcoming state to immigrants on November 18, 2024.

Leer en español

Going from working in a family Chinese restaurant to working for the state of Connecticut has emboldened Attorney General William Tong to be outspoken against President-elect Donald Trump’s immigration policies.

“My parents came here with nothing. My dad had 57 cents in his pocket when he arrived in Hartford, Connecticut. They were not citizens when I was born, and so when I was born, by right of my birth, I acquired citizenship,” Tong said.

The right to be a U.S. citizen is given to every person born on U.S. soil because of the 14th Amendment. Last December, Trump said he planned to take action on his first day in office to have birthright citizenship rescinded. Tong said he would be the first to sue, if Trump moved to end birthright citizenship.

“When anybody attacks the recipients of birthright citizenship and calls us anchor babies. That's who I am,” Tong said, “They're attacking me.”

Trump has said that he will take several steps on day one to tighten federal immigration policies, though he has not been clear on how he will carry out his plans.

FILE: State Senator Rob Sampson speaks passionately during the state senate special session meeting on Wednesday June 26, 2024.
Ayannah Brown
/
Connecticut Public
FILE: State Senator Rob Sampson speaks passionately during the state senate special session meeting on Wednesday June 26, 2024.

State GOP sets sights on Trust Act

Inauguration Day’s fast approach has reignited Connecticut Republicans’ calls to tighten the state’s immigration policies so they align with the nation’s rule of law and aid in Trump’s immigration efforts.

Republican State Sen. Rob Sampson is putting in a bill to repeal Connecticut’s Trust Act, which allows undocumented people to communicate with local police without fear of deportation, by limiting communication between local law enforcement and federal immigration officers.

“I think the Trust Act is in direct conflict with federal immigration law and therefore should be nullified,” Sampson said.

Sampson supported the Trust Act when it first passed in 2013, but according to Sampson, the law went too far after it was revised in 2019 to expand the reach of the protections offered for undocumented people, leaving convicted felons and potential terrorists as the only exceptions.

“We should restore the rule of law and enable the federal government to engage in revisions to our immigration policy that enable even greater amounts of lawful immigration,” Sampson said.

Speaker of the House Matt Ritter calls lawmakers to order as they gather at the Capitol Building in Hartford for the first day of the legislative session on January 8, 2025.
Tyler Russell
/
Connecticut Public
Speaker of the House Matt Ritter calls lawmakers to order as they gather at the Capitol Building in Hartford for the first day of the legislative session on January 8, 2025.

According to Democratic Speaker of the House Matt Ritter, there are no plans to make any changes to the Trust Act in the 2025 legislative session. He said he thinks the law is well drafted and covers a lot of the problems that the legislature thought could arise.

“I don't know that we could make wholesale changes to the act,” Ritter said, but depending on how the federal government follows through on its mass deportation program, “Maybe there are some modifications, and we would certainly engage those.”

According to Ritter, the challenge will be in the interplay between federal and state powers as Trump kicks off his second term.

“Do I think that we should be going after people who have lived here as law abiding citizens and are just raising their families?” Ritter said, “I'm not sure that should be the priority of the federal government.”

According to the Trump administration, that’s not the priority. Trump has said he intends to start mass deportations with criminals and then advance onto other undocumented people.

However, some immigration analysts and former immigration officials told NPR the means by which he will go about those deportations will face logistical challenges, such as resources to detain people and legal roadblocks.

Attorney General William Tong at the Capitol Building in Hartford for the first day of the legislative session on January 8, 2025.
Tyler Russell
/
Connecticut Public
Attorney General William Tong at the Capitol Building in Hartford for the first day of the legislative session on January 8, 2025.

State and federal powers come into play

State immigration policy also came under attack from officials outside Connecticut recently, when a conservative non-profit and law firm that Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy runs sent a letter threatening Gov. Ned Lamont over Connecticut’s laws related to immigrants.

In the letter, the conservative group America First Legal threatened Lamont and his administration with criminal prosecution for policies that protect immigrants, or so-called “sanctuary” policies.

“The fact of the matter is that you and the other officials who support or enforce sanctuary laws, policies, and regulations have a very personal stake in the matter – you each could face criminal prosecution and civil liability for your illegal acts,” the letter said.

Tong said the letter is an “absurd attempt” to bully and intimidate people. Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller is president of America First Legal. Tong said in that role, Miller has no authority in the immigration sector.

“This is the sovereign state of Connecticut. Stephen Miller has nothing to say about who we are and what we believe and how we're going to live and our laws and how we're going to enforce them,” Tong said.

The letter was sent to an email with Lamont’s name, but was not an official or working email address.

Regardless of what comes, Tong said he feels prepared.

“I'm ready to fight for the people of Connecticut and Connecticut families,” Tong said. “I've never been more ready.”

Daniela Doncel is a Colombian American journalist who joined Connecticut Public in November 2024. Through her reporting, Daniela strives to showcase the diversity of the Hispanic/Latino communities in Connecticut. Her interests range from covering complex topics such as immigration to highlighting the beauty of Hispanic/Latino arts and culture.
Related Content

You make NHPR possible.

NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.