Month: April 2026

Senator Miller Votes for Connecticut Bill Cracking Down on ICE Misconduct

Posted on by sdozapier@senatedems.ct.gov

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Senator Miller Votes for Connecticut Bill Cracking Down on ICE Misconduct

HARTFORD – Senator Pat Billie Miller (D-Stamford) today joined her Democratic state Senate colleagues in passing Senate Bill 397, legislation that could help reduce in Connecticut some of the horrific human rights and Constitutional abuses already committed by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in multiple cities and towns across America.

The ICE bill creates a pathway – often referred to as a ‘converse-1983 action’ – for Connecticut citizens to sue ICE agents in state court if their Constitutional rights have been violated.

“This bill creates real legal recourse for Connecticut residents whose Constitutional rights are violated by federal agents who have operated with little fear of accountability,” Senator Miller said. “We have seen what happens in other states when ICE acts without consequence, and the Trump administration has made clear it will not hold these agents responsible for their conduct. Connecticut is drawing a clear line with this vote, and it reflects who we are as a democracy and how we protect the rights and dignity of every person in our communities.”

In May 2025, Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered ICE to arrest up to 3,000 immigrants every day. Since then, rogue federal ICE agents have mounted an unprecedented national fear campaign of attacks on American citizens – including murder, kidnappings, assaults, violations of Constitutional rights, the vilification of all immigrants, and the politicized enforcement of the law.

Senate Bill 397 was first introduced in the Judiciary Committee on March 3, and had its public hearing on March 9, generating nearly 350 pieces of written testimony and 166 speakers during the 12.5-hour public hearing. The bill was widely supported, particularly by religious institutions.

  • Creates a private right of action in state court to sue federal, state, and local government actors when a person’s Constitutional rights are violated. This so-called “Converse-1983” provision is a term coined in 1987 that will allow court actions not currently available today against federal agents.
  • Allows the state Attorney General to take swift action to seek an injunction or declaratory relief, and damages, when federal, state, or local government agents are violating a person’s constitutional right. With court approval, the state Attorney General could acquire a temporary injunction in five days or less for ongoing violations or a policy that would violate a person’s Constitutional rights.
  • Clarifies that the state Inspector General can investigate and prosecute state, local, and some federal agents for the unauthorized use of deadly force. The bill also gives the IG clear and unrestricted access to a crime scene when law enforcement uses deadly force, or when a person dies from the use of force, and allows for a temporary injunction allowing the IG access to investigate and collect evidence.
  • Prohibits all law enforcement officers — federal, state, local — from covering their faces, albeit with some exceptions. The bill also requires them to wear a badge or name tag.
  • Prohibits law enforcement — federal, state, or local — from arresting someone for a civil offense in a protected area, unless there is a judicial warrant. This section takes effect October 1, 2026.
  • Eliminates a law enforcement officer’s immunity if they violate a person’s right to record law enforcement while committing assault, battery, false imprisonment, false arrest, abuse of process, or malicious prosecution.
  • Prevents law enforcement officers with less than 480 hours of training from becoming police officers in Connecticut (federal ICE officers receive about 376 hours of training).

S.B. 397 also tackles the growth of government use (not just by law enforcement) of automated license plate reader systems (ALPR) to ensure that driver data is being handled in a responsible way and not abused by those with bad intent. The bill allows ALPRs to be used for license plates on a “hot list,” but data cannot be held for more than 21 days without an active criminal investigation. License plate data cannot be used to determine race/ethnicity; any activity protected under the First Amendment; suspected immigration status; reproductive health care or gender affirming care; and it protects facilities that provide the above from having a fixed ALPR near them so that patients cannot be tracked for receiving care.

S.B. 397 now heads to the House of Representatives to be debated and passed and then signed into law by Governor Ned Lamont. Most of its provisions take effect immediately.

SENATOR NEEDLEMAN VOTES TO PASS BILL REINING IN ICE ABUSES IN CONNECTICUT

Posted on by sdozapier@senatedems.ct.gov
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SENATOR NEEDLEMAN VOTES TO PASS BILL REINING IN ICE ABUSES IN CONNECTICUT

Sue ICE agents in state court, ban masks, give AG and IG broad new powers; Bill also addresses responsible use of license plate readers
 
HARTFORD – State Senator Norm Needleman (D-Essex) today joined his Democratic state Senate colleagues in voting to advance Senate Bill 397, “AN ACT CONCERNING DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY.” That bill could help Connecticut reduce and prevent some of the horrific human rights and Constitutional abuses already committed by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in multiple cities and towns across America.

“Immigration enforcement in the last year across the nation, and in Connecticut, conjures a number of disturbing images,” said Sen. Needleman. “Violence in courthouses, kidnappings off the street, dozens of deaths in ICE custody including two U.S. citizens killed in high definition for the world to see. It’s beyond unacceptable and borders on morally abhorrent. Today’s action is meant to provide some security to Connecticut residents that we have their back. We’re putting into place new protections for state residents that simply guarantee federal agents should be treated like all other peace officers. No one should be above accountability.”

For more than a year, rogue federal ICE agents have mounted an unprecedented national fear campaign of attacks on American citizens – including murder, kidnappings, assaults, violations of Constitutional rights, the vilification of all immigrants, and the politicized enforcement of the law.

Senate Bill 397 was first introduced in the Judiciary Committee on March 3, and had its public hearing on March 9, generating nearly 350 pieces of written testimony and 166 speakers during the 12.5-hour public hearing. The bill was widely supported, particularly by religious institutions. 

S.B. 397:
  • Creates a private right of action in state court to sue federal, state, and local government actors when a person’s Constitutional rights are violated. This so-called “Converse-1983” provision is a term coined in 1987 that will allow court actions not currently available today against federal agents.
  • Allows the state Attorney General to take swift action to seek an injunction or declaratory relief, and damages, when federal, state, or local government agents are violating a person’s constitutional right. With court approval, the state Attorney General could acquire a temporary injunction in five days or less for ongoing violations or a policy that would violate a person’s Constitutional rights.
  • Clarifies that the state Inspector General can investigate and prosecute state, local, and some federal agents for the unauthorized use of deadly force. The bill also gives the IG clear and unrestricted access to a crime scene when law enforcement uses deadly force, or when a person dies from the use of force, and allows for a temporary injunction allowing the IG access to investigate and collect evidence. 
  • Prohibits all law enforcement officers — federal, state, local — from covering their faces, albeit with some exceptions. The bill also requires them to wear a badge or name tag.
  • Prohibits law enforcement — federal, state, or local — from arresting someone for a civil offense in a protected area, unless there is a judicial warrant. This section takes effect October 1, 2026.
  • Eliminates a law enforcement officer’s immunity if they violate a person’s right to record law enforcement while committing assault, battery, false imprisonment, false arrest, abuse of process, or malicious prosecution. 
  • Prevents law enforcement officers with less than 480 hours of training from becoming police officers in Connecticut (federal ICE officers receive about 376 hours of training).
S.B. 397 also tackles the growth of government use, not just by law enforcement, of automated license plate reader systems (ALPR) to ensure that driver data is being handled in a responsible way and not abused by those with bad intent. The bill allows ALPRs to be used for license plates on a “hot list,” but data cannot be held for more than 21 days without an active criminal investigation. License plate data cannot be used to determine race/ethnicity; any activity protected under the First Amendment; suspected immigration status; reproductive health care or gender affirming care; and it protects facilities that provide the above from having a fixed ALPR near them so that patients cannot be tracked for receiving care.

S.B. 397 now heads to the House of Representatives to be debated and passed and then signed into law by Governor Ned Lamont. Most of its provisions take effect immediately.
 
###

Sen. Winfield on ICE: “Other People’s Experiences Matter”

Posted on by sdozapier@senatedems.ct.gov

Senator Winfield Delivers Passionate, Personal Speech on Need to Rein in ICE

During Senate floor debate on Senate Bill 397, “An Act Concerning Democracy and Government Accountability,” state Senator Gary Winfield (D-New Haven) delivered a passionate speech drawing on personal experience, community trust, and the constitutional stakes of federal immigration enforcement in Connecticut.

“I’m here to tell you other people’s experiences matter. And yes, I represent New Haven and West Haven, but as I have said many, many times, I’m a member of the circle. So all of those experiences are important. The mixture of experiences are important. And reality is not my reality or your reality. Reality is where our realities meet, and when our realities meet, things like this come about.”


Watch the video here.

Full transcript of Senator Winfield’s floor remarks:

TODAY: SENATE DEMOCRATS WILL PASS BILL REINING IN ICE ABUSES IN CONNECTICUT

Posted on by Devin James

TODAY: SENATE DEMOCRATS WILL PASS BILL REINING IN ICE ABUSES IN CONNECTICUT

Sue ICE agents in state court, ban masks, give AG and IG broad new powers; Bill also addresses responsible use of license plate readers

HARTFORD – Democratic state senators today will debate and pass Senate Bill 397, “AN ACT CONCERNING DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY,” that could help reduce in Connecticut some of the horrific human rights and Constitutional abuses already committed by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in multiple cities and towns across America.

In May 2025, Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered ICE to arrest up to 3,000 immigrants every day. Since then, rogue federal ICE agents have mounted an unprecedented national fear campaign of attacks on American citizens – including murder, kidnappings, assaults, violations of Constitutional rights, the vilification of all immigrants, and the politicized enforcement of the law.

Briefly, S.B. 397 creates a much-needed cause of action to sue federal officials that violate our constitutional rights; bans masks for federal, state, and local law enforcement, with some exceptions; gives Connecticut residents the best chance to convict federal officers who commit crimes by clarifying, expanding, and strengthening the authority of our state Inspector General; empowers Connecticut (through the Attorney General and the IG) to seek emergency injunctions against federal law enforcement that violate a person’s rights or obstruct an investigation; prohibits ICE arrests for civil offenses in sensitive areas like schools, hospitals and places of worship; and ensures that lightly-trained ICE agents do not become police officers in Connecticut.

S.B. 397 also tackles the growth of government use (not just by law enforcement) of automated license plate reader systems (ALPR) to ensure that driver data is being handled in a responsible way and not abused by those with bad intent. The bill allows ALPRs to be used for license plates on a “hot list,” but data cannot be held for more than 21 days without an active criminal investigation. License plate data cannot be used to determine race/ethnicity; any activity protected under the First Amendment; suspected immigration status; reproductive health care or gender affirming care; and it protects facilities that provide the above from having a fixed ALPR near them so that patients cannot be tracked for receiving care.

S.B. 397 will be debated, voted on, and passed today in the state Senate. All but one of its sections become effective upon its signature into law.

“There was not a single Republican vote in the Judiciary Committee in favor of the ICE bill, which is absolutely critical to the health of our state and our democracy. In my opinion this is the most consequential bill that the General Assembly has addressed so far this session,” said Senate President Martin Looney (D-New Haven). “Despite our decades-long reputation as a moderate and somewhat politically bipartisan state, I think the Republican Senate Caucus will be hard-pressed today to vote against this bill and still be able to claim that they are not completely aligned with Donald Trump’s MAGA movement.”

“After the murder of Renee Good in Minneapolis in early January, Senate Democrats vowed that we’d work on legislation to prevent these types of ICE abuses in Connecticut. Today we’re keeping that promise,” said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk). “We’ve researched these legal issues for months; they’re as airtight as you can get. Once again, state government is proving to be the solution to the problem that is the federal abuse of individual rights. Now it’s gut-check time for the Senate Republican MAGA Caucus. Where do they stand? With Donald Trump and his modern-day brownshirts? Or with the people of Connecticut? Let’s see how they vote.”

“This bill is bigger than just the letters on the page,” said Senator Gary Winfield (D-New Haven), the Senate Chair of the Judiciary Committee who helped write the bill. “The conversation we’re having today is not really about the bill. It’s really about us. We’ve acted over the course of the current Trump administration as if it’s okay to violate people’s rights, as if it’s okay to use the concept of law to obviate justice. This bill is about, who are we as a people? Who are we as a democracy? That’s what this bill is about.”

Senate Bill 397 was first introduced in the Judiciary Committee on March 3, and had its public hearing on March 9, generating nearly 350 pieces of written testimony and 166 speakers during the 12.5-hour public hearing. The bill was widely supported, particularly by religious institutions.

S.B. 397:

  • Creates a private right of action in state court to sue federal, state, and local government actors when a person’s Constitutional rights are violated. This so-called “Converse-1983” provision is a term coined in 1987 that will allow court actions not currently available today against federal agents.
  • Allows the state Attorney General to take swift action to seek an injunction or declaratory relief, and damages, when federal, state, or local government agents are violating a person’s constitutional right. With court approval, the state Attorney General could acquire a temporary injunction in five days or less for ongoing violations or a policy that would violate a person’s Constitutional rights.
  • Clarifies that the state Inspector General can investigate and prosecute state, local, and some federal agents for the unauthorized use of deadly force. The bill also gives the IG clear and unrestricted access to a crime scene when law enforcement uses deadly force, or when a person dies from the use of force, and allows for a temporary injunction allowing the IG access to investigate and collect evidence.
  • Prohibits all law enforcement officers — federal, state, local — from covering their faces, albeit with some exceptions. The bill also requires them to wear a badge or name tag.
  • Prohibits law enforcement — federal, state, or local — from arresting someone for a civil offense in a protected area, unless there is a judicial warrant. This section takes effect October 1, 2026.
  • Eliminates a law enforcement officer’s immunity if they violate a person’s right to record law enforcement while committing assault, battery, false imprisonment, false arrest, abuse of process, or malicious prosecution.
  • Prevents law enforcement officers with less than 480 hours of training from becoming police officers in Connecticut (federal ICE officers receive about 376 hours of training).

After passing in the Senate, S.B. 397 will be debated and passed in the House of Representatives and signed into law by Governor Ned Lamont. Most all of its provisions take effect immediately.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kevin Coughlin | kevin.coughlin@cga.ct.gov | 203-710-0193

Senator MD Rahman Leads Passage of Nonresident Landlord Accountability Bill

Posted on by sdozapier@senatedems.ct.gov

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Senator MD Rahman Leads Passage of Nonresident Landlord Accountability Bill

HARTFORD — Senator MD Rahman (D-Manchester), Senate Chair of the Planning and Development Committee, led the passage Tuesday of SB 274, legislation strengthening tenant protections by requiring nonresident landlords to register with municipalities and increasing penalties for repeat building and fire code violations.

“Too often, Connecticut tenants are stuck in unsafe housing because the system makes it too easy for absentee landlords to stay invisible,” Senator Rahman said. “This bill changes that by requiring nonresident property owners to register with municipalities, so that when there is a code violation, local officials and prosecutors can find the responsible party and hold them accountable. Every tenant in Connecticut deserves to know that if their home is unsafe, someone is going to answer for it.”

Under current law, municipalities may ask nonresident property owners to register their contact information, but are not required to. That gap allows absentee landlords, particularly those who own property through corporate entities, to remain difficult to identify and contact when code violations arise. SB 274 makes registration mandatory for larger municipalities, requires landlords to provide current residential addresses and identifying information, and ensures that service of a compliance order to that address constitutes valid legal notice. The bill takes effect October 1, 2026.

The bill also increases penalties for repeat violations of the State Building Code and State Fire Safety Code. For a first offense, landlords face fines between $200 and $1,000, imprisonment of up to six months, or both. Repeat offenders face fines of up to $2,000 for building code violations and up to $1,000 for fire code violations, with imprisonment of up to six months also available as a penalty.

Senator MD Rahman represents the 4th Senate District covering Manchester, Glastonbury, Andover, and Bolton.

ALONGSIDE FORMER BIDEN DRUG CONTROL POLICY DIRECTOR, CONNECTICUT LAWMAKERS AND ADVOCATES CALL FOR MORE HARM REDUCTION SUPPORT

Posted on by sdozapier@senatedems.ct.gov

Senator Anwar

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Joe O’Leary | Joe.OLeary@cga.ct.gov | 508-479-4969

April 14, 2026

ALONGSIDE FORMER BIDEN DRUG CONTROL POLICY DIRECTOR, CONNECTICUT LAWMAKERS AND ADVOCATES CALL FOR MORE HARM REDUCTION SUPPORT

As the opioid epidemic hits an inflection point – overdose deaths have declined 45% in Connecticut in recent years, but the state still sees more than two drug overdose deaths per day in its communities – advocates called for continued investment and change at the state level, including the development of a comprehensive plan to better address state opioid use.

Joined by Dr. Rahul Gupta, who served as director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under the Biden Administration, advocates and lawmakers including State Senator Saud Anwar (D-South Windsor) and State Representative Cristin McCarthy Vahey (D-Fairfield), who chair the Public Health Committee, Dr. Scott Burris, director of Temple University’s Center for Public Health Law Research, Professor Robert Heimer, professor of epidemiology and pharmacology at Yale Institute for Global Health, Liz Evans of Liberation Systems and advocates including Dita Bhargawa and Diane Santos, who both lost children to overdoses, and Cameron Breen, a street outreach case manager and drug checking technician, called for the state to renew and improve on its investments in harm reduction, including pursuit of new models of care including overdose prevention centers.

“If we took the start of 2019 and looked at the number of people who died in motor vehicle accidents, firearms, homicide, natural disasters and serving in the military, if you put all of their deaths together, you would get to half of all deaths caused by opioids. It’s the number one preventable cause of death in our country,” said Sen. Anwar. “We’ve lost enough people that it equates to the entire population of a community in half of our state. Other parts of the country are aggressively addressing this while we are still above the national average. We need serious change in how we address this continuing disaster. Our state must invest more to address this continuing crisis and tragedy.”

“This is a really sobering moment, reflecting on more than 8,000 individuals lost in less than a decade,” said Dr. Gupta, who described the federal government’s investment of hundreds of millions of dollars into test strips, Narcan and overdose reversal drugs, risk reduction programs and treatment expansion. “This is important because we can’t save every life we can unless we do what evidence tells us. Every death from overdose is preventable. We need to take action now.”

“There has never been a new thing in harm reduction someone didn’t say was illegal,” said Dr. Burris, who has extensively studied overdose prevention centers and other overdose response strategies. “Harm reduction has always moved forward and won legal cases because it’s part of the spectrum of clinical services we need to have a comprehensive treatment plan of controlled substance use disorder. You’ll hear people tell you you can’t do that, it’s illegal, but the answer is to see them in court. Passing laws allowing health services to be given to those who need them is how we fix the health care system we have now.”

From a peak of 1,524 overdose deaths in 2021 to 836 deaths according to data from 2025, overdose deaths in the state have plummeted 45% in the last five years, a more significant decline than the national average. While that’s significant progress, it still means 836 family members and friends are dying each year throughout the state.

Public outreach, public service announcements, increased access to anti-opioid agents like Narcan and increased investment in state services have helped reduce the damage, but more can be done. Housing assistance, expanding treatment access and operating mobile opioid treatment programs are among the successful strategies adopted by the state, but with tens of millions of dollars in opioid settlement funds available as well as potential increases in funding at the state level, more investment is possible.

Connecticut needs funding to continue increasing public access to medication countering opioid use disorder, reducing overdose risks and newfound investment in training to support and expand the workforce fighting addiction.

TODAY: SENATE DEMOCRATS WILL PASS BILL REINING IN ICE ABUSES IN CONNECTICUT

Posted on by sdozapier@senatedems.ct.gov

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TODAY: SENATE DEMOCRATS WILL PASS BILL REINING IN ICE ABUSES IN CONNECTICUT

Sue ICE agents in state court, ban masks, give AG and IG broad new powers; Bill also addresses responsible use of license plate readers

HARTFORD – Democratic state senators today will debate and pass Senate Bill 397, “AN ACT CONCERNING DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY,” that could help reduce in Connecticut some of the horrific human rights and Constitutional abuses already committed by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in multiple cities and towns across America.

In May 2025, Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered ICE to arrest up to 3,000 immigrants every day. Since then, rogue federal ICE agents have mounted an unprecedented national fear campaign of attacks on American citizens – including murder, kidnappings, assaults, violations of Constitutional rights, the vilification of all immigrants, and the politicized enforcement of the law.

Briefly, S.B. 397 creates a much-needed cause of action to sue federal officials that violate our constitutional rights; bans masks for federal, state, and local law enforcement, with some exceptions; gives Connecticut residents the best chance to convict federal officers who commit crimes by clarifying, expanding, and strengthening the authority of our state Inspector General; empowers Connecticut (through the Attorney General and the IG) to seek emergency injunctions against federal law enforcement that violate a person’s rights or obstruct an investigation; prohibits ICE arrests for civil offenses in sensitive areas like schools, hospitals and places of worship; and ensures that lightly-trained ICE agents do not become police officers in Connecticut.

S.B. 397 also tackles the growth of government use (not just by law enforcement) of automated license plate reader systems (ALPR) to ensure that driver data is being handled in a responsible way and not abused by those with bad intent. The bill allows ALPRs to be used for license plates on a “hot list,” but data cannot be held for more than 21 days without an active criminal investigation. License plate data cannot be used to determine race/ethnicity; any activity protected under the First Amendment; suspected immigration status; reproductive health care or gender affirming care; and it protects facilities that provide the above from having a fixed ALPR near them so that patients cannot be tracked for receiving care.

S.B. 397 will be debated, voted on, and passed today in the state Senate. All but one of its sections become effective upon its signature into law.

“There was not a single Republican vote in the Judiciary Committee in favor of the ICE bill, which is absolutely critical to the health of our state and our democracy. In my opinion this is the most consequential bill that the General Assembly has addressed so far this session,” said Senate President Martin Looney (D-New Haven). “Despite our decades-long reputation as a moderate and somewhat politically bipartisan state, I think the Republican Senate Caucus will be hard-pressed today to vote against this bill and still be able to claim that they are not completely aligned with Donald Trump’s MAGA movement.”

“After the murder of Renee Good in Minneapolis in early January, Senate Democrats vowed that we’d work on legislation to prevent these types of ICE abuses in Connecticut. Today we’re keeping that promise,” said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk). “We’ve researched these legal issues for months; they’re as airtight as you can get. Once again, state government is proving to be the solution to the problem that is the federal abuse of individual rights. Now it’s gut-check time for the Senate Republican MAGA Caucus. Where do they stand? With Donald Trump and his modern-day brownshirts? Or with the people of Connecticut? Let’s see how they vote.”

“This bill is bigger than just the letters on the page,” said Senator Gary Winfield (D-New Haven), the Senate Chair of the Judiciary Committee who helped write the bill. “The conversation we’re having today is not really about the bill. It’s really about us. We’ve acted over the course of the current Trump administration as if it’s okay to violate people’s rights, as if it’s okay to use the concept of law to obviate justice. This bill is about, who are we as a people? Who are we as a democracy? That’s what this bill is about.”

Senate Bill 397 was first introduced in the Judiciary Committee on March 3, and had its public hearing on March 9, generating nearly 350 pieces of written testimony and 166 speakers during the 12.5-hour public hearing. The bill was widely supported, particularly by religious institutions.

S.B. 397:

  • Creates a private right of action in state court to sue federal, state, and local government actors when a person’s Constitutional rights are violated. This so-called “Converse-1983” provision is a term coined in 1987 that will allow court actions not currently available today against federal agents.
  • Allows the state Attorney General to take swift action to seek an injunction or declaratory relief, and damages, when federal, state, or local government agents are violating a person’s constitutional right. With court approval, the state Attorney General could acquire a temporary injunction in five days or less for ongoing violations or a policy that would violate a person’s Constitutional rights.
  • Clarifies that the state Inspector General can investigate and prosecute state, local, and some federal agents for the unauthorized use of deadly force. The bill also gives the IG clear and unrestricted access to a crime scene when law enforcement uses deadly force, or when a person dies from the use of force, and allows for a temporary injunction allowing the IG access to investigate and collect evidence.
  • Prohibits all law enforcement officers — federal, state, local — from covering their faces, albeit with some exceptions. The bill also requires them to wear a badge or name tag.
  • Prohibits law enforcement — federal, state, or local — from arresting someone for a civil offense in a protected area, unless there is a judicial warrant. This section takes effect October 1, 2026.
  • Eliminates a law enforcement officer’s immunity if they violate a person’s right to record law enforcement while committing assault, battery, false imprisonment, false arrest, abuse of process, or malicious prosecution.
  • Prevents law enforcement officers with less than 480 hours of training from becoming police officers in Connecticut (federal ICE officers receive about 376 hours of training).

After passing in the Senate, S.B. 397 will be debated and passed in the House of Representatives and signed into law by Governor Ned Lamont. Most all of its provisions take effect immediately.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kevin Coughlin | kevin.coughlin@cga.ct.gov | 203-710-0193

TODAY: SENATE DEMOCRATS WILL PASS BILL REINING IN ICE ABUSES IN CONNECTICUT

Posted on by sdozapier@senatedems.ct.gov

Newsletter Header

TODAY: SENATE DEMOCRATS WILL PASS BILL REINING IN ICE ABUSES IN CONNECTICUT

Sue ICE agents in federal court, ban masks, give AG and IG broad new powers; Bill also addresses responsible use of license plate readers

HARTFORD – Democratic state senators today will debate and pass Senate Bill 397, “AN ACT CONCERNING DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY,” that could help reduce in Connecticut some of the horrific human rights and Constitutional abuses already committed by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in multiple cities and towns across America.

In May 2025, Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered ICE to arrest up to 3,000 immigrants every day. Since then, rogue federal ICE agents have mounted an unprecedented national fear campaign of attacks on American citizens – including murder, kidnappings, assaults, violations of Constitutional rights, the vilification of all immigrants, and the politicized enforcement of the law.

Briefly, S.B. 397 creates a much-needed cause of action to sue federal officials that violate our constitutional rights; bans masks for federal, state, and local law enforcement, with some exceptions; gives Connecticut residents the best chance to convict federal officers who commit crimes by clarifying, expanding, and strengthening the authority of our state Inspector General; empowers Connecticut (through the Attorney General and the IG) to seek emergency injunctions against federal law enforcement that violate a person’s rights or obstruct an investigation; prohibits ICE arrests for civil offenses in sensitive areas like schools, hospitals and places of worship; and ensures that lightly-trained ICE agents do not become police officers in Connecticut.

S.B. 397 also tackles the growth of government use (not just by law enforcement) of automated license plate reader systems (ALPR) to ensure that driver data is being handled in a responsible way and not abused by those with bad intent. The bill allows ALPRs to be used for license plates on a “hot list,” but data cannot be held for more than 21 days without an active criminal investigation. License plate data cannot be used to determine race/ethnicity; any activity protected under the First Amendment; suspected immigration status; reproductive health care or gender affirming care; and it protects facilities that provide the above from having a fixed ALPR near them so that patients cannot be tracked for receiving care.

S.B. 397 will be debated, voted on, and passed today in the state Senate. All but one of its sections become effective upon its signature into law.

“There was not a single Republican vote in the Judiciary Committee in favor of the ICE bill, which is absolutely critical to the health of our state and our democracy. In my opinion this is the most consequential bill that the General Assembly has addressed so far this session,” said Senate President Martin Looney (D-New Haven). “Despite our decades-long reputation as a moderate and somewhat politically bipartisan state, I think the Republican Senate Caucus will be hard-pressed today to vote against this bill and still be able to claim that they are not completely aligned with Donald Trump’s MAGA movement.”

“After the murder of Renee Good in Minneapolis in early January, Senate Democrats vowed that we’d work on legislation to prevent these types of ICE abuses in Connecticut. Today we’re keeping that promise,” said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk). “We’ve researched these legal issues for months; they’re as airtight as you can get. Once again, state government is proving to be the solution to the problem that is the federal abuse of individual rights. Now it’s gut-check time for the Senate Republican MAGA Caucus. Where do they stand? With Donald Trump and his modern-day brownshirts? Or with the people of Connecticut? Let’s see how they vote.”

“This bill is bigger than just the letters on the page,” said Senator Gary Winfield (D-New Haven), the Senate Chair of the Judiciary Committee who helped write the bill. “The conversation we’re having today is not really about the bill. It’s really about us. We’ve acted over the course of the current Trump administration as if it’s okay to violate people’s rights, as if it’s okay to use the concept of law to obviate justice. This bill is about, who are we as a people? Who are we as a democracy? That’s what this bill is about.”

Senate Bill 397 was first introduced in the Judiciary Committee on March 3, and had its public hearing on March 9, generating nearly 350 pieces of written testimony and 166 speakers during the 12.5-hour public hearing. The bill was widely supported, particularly by religious institutions.

S.B. 397:

  • Creates a private right of action in state court to sue federal, state, and local government actors when a person’s Constitutional rights are violated. This so-called “Converse-1983” provision is a term coined in 1987 that will allow court actions not currently available today against federal agents.
  • Allows the state Attorney General to take swift action to seek an injunction or declaratory relief, and damages, when federal, state, or local government agents are violating a person’s constitutional right. With court approval, the state Attorney General could acquire a temporary injunction in five days or less for ongoing violations or a policy that would violate a person’s Constitutional rights.
  • Clarifies that the state Inspector General can investigate and prosecute state, local, and some federal agents for the unauthorized use of deadly force. The bill also gives the IG clear and unrestricted access to a crime scene when law enforcement uses deadly force, or when a person dies from the use of force, and allows for a temporary injunction allowing the IG access to investigate and collect evidence.
  • Prohibits all law enforcement officers — federal, state, local — from covering their faces, albeit with some exceptions. The bill also requires them to wear a badge or name tag.
  • Prohibits law enforcement — federal, state, or local — from arresting someone for a civil offense in a protected area, unless there is a judicial warrant. This section takes effect October 1, 2026.
  • Eliminates a law enforcement officer’s immunity if they violate a person’s right to record law enforcement while committing assault, battery, false imprisonment, false arrest, abuse of process, or malicious prosecution.
  • Prevents law enforcement officers with less than 480 hours of training from becoming police officers in Connecticut (federal ICE officers receive about 376 hours of training).

After passing in the Senate, S.B. 397 will be debated and passed in the House of Representatives and signed into law by Governor Ned Lamont. Most all of its provisions take effect immediately.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kevin Coughlin | kevin.coughlin@cga.ct.gov | 203-710-0193

MEDIA ADVISORY – 11:30 AM HALL OF FLAGS – BIDEN DRUG CONTROL DIRECTOR, ADVOCATES, LEGISLATORS TO FIGHT FOR OPIOID HARM REDUCTION

Posted on by sdozapier@senatedems.ct.gov

Senator Anwar

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Joe O’Leary | Joe.OLeary@cga.ct.gov | 508-479-4969

MEDIA ADVISORY – 11:30 AM HALL OF FLAGS – BIDEN ADMIN DRUG CONTROL DIRECTOR, ADVOCATES, LEGISLATORS TO FIGHT FOR FURTHER HARM REDUCTION INVESTMENT TO FIGHT OPIOID CRISIS

Where: State Capitol, Hall of Flags
When: Tuesday, April 14, 11:30 a.m.
Who: Dr. Rahul Gupta, former National Drug Control Policy director under the Biden Administration, whose focus on harm reduction reduced national overdose rates

  • Experts including Professor Scott Burris, director of Temple University’s Center for Public Health Law Research; Professor Robert Heimer, professor of epidemiology and pharmacology at Yale Institute for Global Health; and Liz Evans of Liberation Programs, a harm reduction expert
  • Additional advocates including Dita Bhargawa, board member of Shatterproof and Liberation Program, and Diane Santos, who both lost children to overdoses; and Cameron Breen, a street outreach case manager and drug checking technician
  • Legislators led by Public Health Chairs Senator Saud Anwar and Representative Cristin McCarthy Vahey, joined by additional legislators including State Representative Josh Elliott

On Tuesday, as Connecticut sees overdose deaths decline but more than two residents per day still die from overdose, advocates, legislators and experts will join Dr. Rahul Gupta, former National Drug Control Policy director to call for Connecticut to further its investments in harm reduction at an inflection point in the opioid crisis. With Connecticut continuing to pursue new strategies to battle the opioid crisis, now is the time for the state to commit further toward ending the tragedies that impact families, friends and loved ones every day.

MEDIA ADVISORY – TUESDAY 11:30 AM HALL OF FLAGS – BIDEN DRUG CONTROL DIRECTOR, ADVOCATES, LEGISLATORS TO FIGHT FOR OPIOID HARM REDUCTION

Posted on by sdozapier@senatedems.ct.gov

Senator Anwar

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Joe O’Leary | Joe.OLeary@cga.ct.gov | 508-479-4969

MEDIA ADVISORY – TUESDAY 11:30 AM HALL OF FLAGS – BIDEN ADMIN DRUG CONTROL DIRECTOR, ADVOCATES, LEGISLATORS TO FIGHT FOR FURTHER HARM REDUCTION INVESTMENT TO FIGHT OPIOID CRISIS

Where: State Capitol, Hall of Flags
When: Tuesday, April 14, 11:30 a.m.
Who: Dr. Rahul Gupta, former National Drug Control Policy director under the Biden Administration, whose focus on harm reduction reduced national overdose rates
Experts including Professor Scott Burris, director of Temple University’s Center for Public Health Law Research; Professor Robert Heimer, professor of epidemiology and pharmacology at Yale Institute for Global Health; and Liz Evans of Liberation Programs, a harm reduction expert
Additional advocates including Dita Bhargawa, board member of Shatterproof and Liberation Program, and Diane Santos, who both lost children to overdoses; and Cameron Breen, a street outreach case manager and drug checking technician
Legislators led by Public Health Chairs Senator Saud Anwar and Representative Cristin McCarthy Vahey, joined by additional legislators including State Representative Josh Elliott

On Tuesday, as Connecticut sees overdose deaths decline but more than two residents per day still die from overdose, advocates, legislators and experts will join Dr. Rahul Gupta, former National Drug Control Policy director to call for Connecticut to further its investments in harm reduction at an inflection point in the opioid crisis. With Connecticut continuing to pursue new strategies to battle the opioid crisis, now is the time for the state to commit further toward ending the tragedies that impact families, friends and loved ones every day.